Cook With Us #24: @docsmith Handcrafted Knife Contest Round 2 {Coconut Tofu with Jasmine Green Tea Rice and Strawberry Hot Sauce}

Hey everyone! I am so honored to have made it past the first round in the current @cookwithus challenge with such a wonderfully talented field of contestants! Joining in with these talented folks and having the trio of @chefsteve, @pandamama and @offoodandart hosting continues to make me push just a little bit harder to make great food in my humble home kitchen. You can check out all of the other really interesting posts for this mystery basket round here.

For this round the crew so kindly allowed for a vegan option, so my main ingredients were tofu, strawberries, tomatoes, and tea. An interesting basket for sure, but luckily it didn't take me too long to get the creative juices flowing.

Tofu is pretty plain by itself, so that was no problem to incorporate into any dish. I have also already done savory with strawberries and tomatoes together in a BBQ sauce, making that pairing not so foreign to me. I was definitely thinking curry to begin with, but then opted for more of a stir fry with a light coconut sauce so I didn't overpower all of the main ingredients with a really spicy sauce. Using the strawberries in a hot sauce meant it would be easier to control the heat rather than incorporating the heat and spice right into the main part of the dish itself. The most challenging component to me was the tea. After looking up a few ideas, I settled on using jasmine rice as my base and what better liquid to cook it in than jasmine green tea?

I don't always opt to press my tofu before using it in my cooking, however this time I wanted to really make sure I pressed out the excess water content to allow it to be able to soak up the flavors from the coconut sauce. You don't have to have a fancy press. A clean dish towel, a few plates and some heavy cans will do the trick! Just leave it for 15 minutes and much of the excess water will be pushed out allowing it to brown easier or soak up more flavor without watering down your dish when cooking. I also like to use extra firm tofu which has less excess water to being with in my opinion.

Luckily though strawberries are on their way out of season around here, I still had some frozen from picking back in the spring. Even in sauces I feel like you can tell a difference between fresh-picked and the packs you buy here in the grocery store. Freezing seems to concentrate that beautiful berry aroma even more. I chose the sun-dried version of tomatoes because I love the deep flavor they impart. It almost hits that umami note like mushrooms or soy sauce. I try not to use too much salt in my cooking, so ingredients like that help add that richness and flavor that allow you to go much easier on the sodium.

Alright, enough talk, let's get to cooking! We'll start with the strawberry hot sauce so you can put that aside while you prepare the main part of the meal.

Strawberry Hot Sauce

• 1/3 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or thawed frozen ones)
• 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili sauce--make sure it is vegan)
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking.

Coconut Tofu with Jasmine Green Tea Rice

• 2 bags jasmine green tea brewed in 1 1/2 cups boiling water for 3-4 minutes
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered then sliced
• 1 cup baby bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 (15-ounce) package extra firm tofu, pressed & cubed
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• juice from 1/2 of a large fresh lime (or 1 small)
• broccoli sprouts for serving

After brewing your tea, discard the tea bags and bring the tea to a boil in a saucepan. Add the rice then cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked through according to package directions. Set aside when done.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium and add in the onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Pour in a tablespoon of water as needed to keep the vegetables from sticking.

After the onions and peppers have started to soften, add in the ginger and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Cook for just a minute to open up the ginger, then add the tofu and keep the party going in the pan for another few minutes. Finally add in the coconut milk, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 more minutes to get the tofu warmed through and all the flavors to incorporate. Remove from heat and finish off with the lime juice.

Scoop out a cup of rice into a bowl, then top with the coconut tofu, a handful of sprouts for some crunch and as much of the hot sauce as you like! I tried a few different ways to plate the hot sauce instead of just drizzling it on top. Still working on that whole presentation side of things, but I know the flavor was delicious!

The tea flavor turned out to be really subtle, but I loved the heat of the strawberry sauce with the creamy, rich coconut tofu. The lime added that bit of acid to brighten everything up. I love sneaking in my broccoli sprouts in everything just because they are so darn healthy, but they actually do fit in really well to round out this plate with something light and fresh. They also help pick up that bit of grassy green tea flavor. Here's one more look to get my proof photo in:

Banners by @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa