Crispy Baked Tofu with Vegetable Rice and Basil

This Crispy Baked Tofu is made with delicious aromatic ingredients and it is a lot less oily but is still an incredible crispy flavor explosion in a plate! Only 400 calories per serving and you can adjust the spiciness to your own taste. Serve it with vegetable rice and fresh basil.

History of Tofu

It is low in calories and contains big amounts of Protein, in Iron, Calcium, and magnesium. Often it is considered as a controversial food because of soya. Tofu often genetically produced (especially in the USA and the crops are sprayed with the herbicide Roundup. So choose organic as often as possible.

How to use firm Tofu

Prior to using firm or soft tofu, you should press out the liquid. Wrap it in a towel and squeeze it gently. This allows the marinades to be absorbed better. Another method is to freeze it and defrost it. This will give you chewy tofu and the marinade will be better absorbed, like a sponge! You can bake it, fry it or grill it. In today’s recipe, I use firm tofu.

How to make Crispy Baked Tofu – Step by Step

How To Prep in advance

This Crispy Tofu is easy to make in advance just pop the baked tofu and the rice without the veggies it in the fridge (covered) before cooking up to 1 day in advance. Alternatively, you can freeze this and when its the time for cooking put it directly in the pan.

COOK’S TIPS FOR PERFECT CRISPY TOFU RECIPE. 

• Use only firm tofu, not the soft one.
• The marinade is very important. Do not be in a rush as the marinade will determine the flavor and the crispiness of the tofu. Coat the tofu in starch before baking.
• If you do not have cornstarch use Arrowroot powder. It is a gluten-free powder and a good choice if you are sensitive to corn-based products.
• You can add the spices you want. If you do not like it spicy you can skip the chili.
• Instead of baking it, you can fry it instead.
• Before serving you can add a little bit of soya sauce. 
• I served it with yellow rice. You can use any rice you want.

OTHER HIGH IN PROTEIN IDEAS AND TOFU RECIPES

• Chickpeas Recipe with sun-dried tomatoes
• The best original Falafel
• Arabic Hummus
• Baked Tofu

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5 from 2 votes

How long does cooked quinoa last?

In this article you will find how long does Quinoa last, How to store and how to cook quinoa. Quinoa is highly nutrioous and you can use it in lot of dishes. 

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Quinoa

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 220kcal

Author Pinelopi Kyriazi

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp salt

US - Metric

Instructions

• Place the quinoa in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Let it soak for 5 minutes.
• Put the quinoa on a thin sieve and rinse it with warm water until the water runs clean. (Some claim that the quinoa softener improves its texture, helps break down the hardest shell of the seeds while rinsing removes the bitter resin, saponin.)
• Place a pan in moderate to strong fire, add 1 cup of quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water. While the packing instructions recommend using 2 cups of liquid for every 1 cup of quinoa, however using 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of liquid for each cup of quinoa has much better results. Let it boil then lower the temperature.
• Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. When the cooking is completed, you will see that it has become translucent with a thin white circle around it. 
• Give it time to "rest". Apply a clean dish towel on top. Then cover it with the lid leaving the Quinoa to rest 10-15 minutes. The lid traps the heat and the towel absorbs excess moisture.
• Stir the quinoa with a fork, enough, so that all the seeds breathe. You already have fluffy quinoa, ready to serve.

Notes

• The secret is how well you rinse Quinoa before cooking. Be sure it will completely rinse to leave as much bitterness as is left.
• In addition, make sure you rinse it well after cooking.
• Quinoa is excellent when cooked in vegetable broth. Also, try to add a little salt -  when cooking. Garlic, rosemary and black pepper also match flavor.
• Quinoa softening improves its texture, helps break down the hardest shell of the seed while the rinse removes the bitter resin, saponin.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 3000mg | Potassium: 350mg | Fiber: 6g | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 3.9mg

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