Crispy Garlic Tofu Bites

Submitted by Sharon123

"Even if you're not a tofu fan, these crispy nuggets are hard to keep out of your mouth. The recipe includes tamarind, an herb native to India that has been cultivated for its pungent acidic flavor since prehistoric times. Tamarind can be found as a frozen paste, a liquid concentrate, or fresh in pods. The porous tofu soaks up the tamarind's bittersweet flavor and forms a caramelized crust around each bite with the tamari, ginger and garlic. The crunchy roasted sunflower seeds add contrasting texture. These are excellent hot from the oven or chilled. Adapted from Whole Foods."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 118.29 ml low-sodium tamari
• 6 garlic cloves, minced, about 3 teaspoons
• 36.97 ml lemon juice
• 118.29 ml orange juice concentrate
• 118.29 ml tamarind paste
• 118.29 ml ketchup
• 14.79 ml minced fresh ginger
• 2.46 ml curry powder
• 2.46 ml garam masala
• 22.18 ml molasses
• 19.71 ml cornstarch
• 14.79 ml cold water
• 453.59 g extra firm tofu, pressed (cover with paper towels, place heavy pan or can on top to press out liquid)
• 236.59 ml sunflower seeds, toasted

directions

1. Combine tamari, garlic, lemon juice, orange juice, tamarind paste, ketchup, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, and molasses in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling simmer.
2. Combine cornstarch and cold water. With the sauce simmering slowly, whisk in diluted cornstarch. Simmer sauce for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
3. When tofu is ready, cut it into 1-inch squares, coat it in marinade and marinate for two hours in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. Roll the tofu cubes in sunflower seeds until well coated. Place the tofu on a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until deep golden brown, turning the pan once during the cooking process.
6. Enjoy!

Reviews

[magpie diner]

I like everything in this, except the tamarind, which may be my mistake. Wondering if my 'tamarind concentrate' is something different from tamarind paste called for, because in this large amount it was completely overpowering. I decided not to assign any stars because I think there must be a difference, and hopefully this post will save someone else making the same mistake. I will definitely try this again because I think the rest of the ingredients would be good together...only next time I'll add in touches of my tamarind 'concentrate' at the end, during the cooking stage of the sauce.