Orange-Scented Broccoli with Glazed Tofu

Feeling inspired and particularly creative, I came home from work one afternoon with a strong idea of what I wanted to eat for dinner. I'd been idly updating spreadsheets all afternoon, while mentally compiling a list of the fresh ingredients I had bought recently. Tofu, broccoli, oyster mushrooms, oranges. I always make sure I have a giant bag of Jasmine rice on hand, so this meal was practically putting itself together!

I made the orange-scented broccoli from Appetite from Reduction and adapted this recipe from Olives for Dinner for the glazed tofu. I'd never made either of the recipes so was unsure as to how they would turn out and work with each other, but they seemed to compliment each other perfectly. I've only recently starting cooking with Chinese rice vinegar (a recent salad turned out to be an acidic disaster) so I was very wary about the tofu being too overpowering. The sauce for the glazed tofu was actually fantastic and definetely something I would make again. It proved to be a quick and satisfying after work dish which was very easy to execute.

Quick noodle soup with crispy tofu

My boyfriend is deceptively fussy. He doesn't come across that way but over time, I have learnt that he's not too crazy about tomatoes, noodles, pasta, cous cous mushrooms, tofu and anything too crispy. So on nights like this when he's out and I'm cooking for one, I'm free to experiment with any ingredient without stressing if my other half will enjoy it.

I was feeling quite lazy tonight but still determined to make something un-boyfriendly so I threw together a quick noodle soup, topped with some crispy tofu and fried shallots. Tasty.

Mock Chicken Laksa

MOCK CHICKEN LAKSA

1 small sliced onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups of veggie stock
400g rice noodles, precooked in warm water and drained
2 cups coconut milk
1 Tbsp sugar
Black pepper & salt to taste
1 tsp curry powder
½ to 1 tsp chili powder
Handful mock chicken, fried (eg. rehydrated TVP fried in 'chickn' seasoning)
Broccoli
Large carrot
125g bean sprouts

Heat a little oil in a wok, and sauté the onions until they’re soft and translucent, stirring in the chopped garlic. Add the ground coriander and cumin, let it blend in for another minute and then pour in the veggie stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the noodles, coconut milk, sugar, black pepper & salt, curry powder and chili powder. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts and the pre-fried mock chicken. Continue simmering, covered, until the carrots are cooked but still crisp.

Garnish with coriander and spring onion.

Enjoy!