Lemon quinoa and lemon tofu

Remember when I made those lemon-cashew-sesame truffle balls?

Also known as recipe one of three lemon recipes?

Today, we have recipes two and three.

I hope your taste buds are lemon ready.

Recipe two, lemon quinoa, isn't really a recipe at all. In fact, this is one of those dishes that would be perfect for a dinner party (presuming your guests like quinoa). The ratio between effort and output is very favourable indeed, and you end up with a dish that looks and tastes delightful with hardly any preparation required.

Simply cook 2/3 cup quinoa in 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 cup water. Add 1 small zucchini, roughly chopped, about 5 minutes before the quinoa is ready. Easy.

Recipe three, lemon tofu, requires a little more effort but is still quite easy to throw together.

As a disclaimer of sorts, this dish didn't fully match  my expectations. My expectations were crispy tofu pieces with a strong lemon flavour, similar to the lemon chicken one might get in a Chinese restaurant. I never liked lemon chicken much, but a tofu version was calling to me.

As it turns out, the tofu here wasn't particularly crispy and the lemon flavours were subtle rather than strong. I also realised after starting that my fresh ginger was, well, no longer fresh. This meant that I used dried ginger, which is not the same thing at all. 

Despite all of that, I still enjoyed the tofu. Frying it would rectify the crispy issue, if desired, and the flavour could be intensified by marinating the tofu for longer before cooking. Checking your ginger supplies before starting would be a sensible thing too.

I sweetened this with palm sugar, which I bought a month or so back but am still experimenting with. Palm sugar comes from the sap of palm trees, and is thus different to coconut sugar, which comes from the sap of flowers from coconut palms. The two sugars are quite similar in appearance, though, and can be used in similar ways. Palm sugar generally comes in solid lumps that require grating or chopping before use, and is similar-ish to brown sugar in taste.

I think this would go well with Asian greens, such as bok choi or gai lan. However, in my disorganised state, we didn't have any of those. I used carrots and water chestnuts instead, which worked well, but if I make this again I will use bok choi as well as fresh ginger.

Lemon tofu

Inspired by lemon chicken with a nod to this recipe and this recipe

Vegan

Serves 3

I made this without ginger and with carrot instead of bok choi, but I am listing what I would do in future

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Ingredients

1 packet (350g) firm tofu, drained, sliced and pressed

1/2 cup lemon juice (the juice of 1 medium lemon)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp palm sugar, roughly chopped

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 small onion or 2 shallots, diced

1/2 cup water chestnuts (or vegetables of choice)

2 bok choi, chopped (or vegetables of choice)

Oil, to taste

Rice, to serve

Method

While your tofu is pressing, combine the lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, cornflour, palm sugar and vegetable stock in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until approaching boiling point. When nearly boiling, reduce the heat and continue stirring for another 2 - 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Set the sauce aside and allow to cool until just warm.

Marinate the tofu in the lemon sauce for at least 30 minutes (preferably for longer).

When the tofu is nearly ready, heat oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onion until just soft. Add the tofu and cook until golden, turning occasionally. The crispiness will depend on how much oil you use.

Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside while you cook the vegetables. The tofu will crisp up on standing. When the vegetables are cooked, return the tofu to the pan and heat through for 5 - 10 minutes.

Do you enjoy lemon chicken / lemon tofu dishes? Prior to this, it had been years since I ate a lemon-focused main dish, but I am now keen to try this again with the ginger and bok choi additions.

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