I was very impressed by the presentation of the rice bowls at Pacific Catch; a bowl full of colors and textures. I tried to recreate it today with tofu, roasted vegetables, beet and radish chips, and edamame, adding color and texture to the plate. To give the dish a punch, I pan-fried the tofu in a tangy sauce. It is spicy, sweet, sour, and salty. All-in-one! This recipe is a keeper.
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Ingredients
(A) Marinade
- 1 cup rice vinegar (or substitute with with white vinegar or apple cider)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 fresh red chilli, minced
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced lemongrass
(B) Tofu Steak and Oven Roasted Vegetables
- 1 box extra firm tofu
- 1 small crown brocolli
- 1 small yellow squash
- 1 small zuchini
- 1 small carrot
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 small egg plant
- 1 cup edamame
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- cilantro for garnish
(C) Beet and Radish Chips
- 1 medium size red beet
- 1 medium size gold beet
- 1 medium size watermelon radish
- 1 medium size yellow radish
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Oil for deep frying
(D) 2 cups short-grain rice
Directions
To prepare Beet and Radish Chips
- Finely chop rosemary and sage. Mix with kosher salt and ground pepper in a small bowl, set aside.
- Peel and slice beets and radish in (C) with a mandolin into 1/8″ slices.
- Deep fry beets and radish slices in oil until crispy.
- Drain and sprinkle the chips with herb and salt mixture while hot.
- Set aside.
To prepare rice bowl
- Mix all the ingredients of marinade (A) in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for ~20 mins uncovered, until sauce starts to thicken. Set aside and let sauce cool.
- Cook rice (D) per instructions on packaging.
- Cut tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange in a flat base pan/dish and coat both sides of tofu slices with the cooled marinade. Marinade for at least 10 mins.
- Cut vegetables in (B) into bite size pieces. Marinade and roast vegetables per instructions given in Oven Roasted Vegetables.
- Boil edamame in 3 cups salted water for 5 mins, drain and set aside.
- Heat wok over medium-high heat. When wok is hot, add oil and ensure it coats the base of the wok evenly.
- When oil is hot, arrange seasoned tofu in a single layer in the wok. Allow the tofu to fry for 2 minutes without flipping it, this allows the bottom of the tofu to be browned and seared. Flip the tofu slices over and sear the other side for another two minutes.
- Bring remaining marinade to a boil again and turn off heat once the sauce boils.
- Scoop rice into serving bowl, arrange tofu steak, oven roasted vegetables, edamame, and root vegetable chips over the rice. Drizzle extra sauce over the tofu. Garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot.
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