Our Favorite Edible Reads
With so many books to read involving food, let us help to give you some of our favorites to enjoy!
One of our newest favorite cookboosk is THE VEGETARIAN RESET by Vasudha Viswanath - This recipe is one of the 75 low-carb plant forward recipes from the book. When my spice-loving taste buds met a tingly Sichuan peppercorn at a potluck in college, they fell in love. A fiery snack sold on the streets of Sichuan, normally this dish will have minced pork though here I
create a flavorful minced tofu that works seamlessly for the topping. A friend tipped me off about the easy substitution of peanut butter for Chinese sesame paste. Add an extra tablespoon of Sichuan chile
oil to your bowl, it will be worth your while!
Ingredients
Minced Tofu
- 6 oz/168g extra-firm tofu
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 4–5 medium scallions (2 oz/55g), sliced and divided into white and green parts
- 1 tsp tamari, or 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
- 1 cup/30g fresh spinach or other greens of choice
- 1 lb/450g veggie noodles of choice (I used hearts of palm noodles)
Sauce
- ½ cup/120ml heated low-sodium vegetable broth or hot water
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter, no sugar or additional oil added
- 2 Tbsp tamari, or 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 Tbsp Sichuan chile oil (including the red pepper flakes), plus more as needed (see notes)
- 1 tsp. Chinkiang vinegar or rice vinegar
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns (see notes)
Instructions
Step 1. To make the minced tofu, press the tofu on a flat surface between paper napkins to squeeze out any excess water. Finely crumble the tofu using your hands. Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the oil, the white parts of the scallions, and tofu and cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, or until the tofu is dry. Add the tamari, Chinese 5-spice powder, cumin, and cayenne, mix well, and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the flavors meld together. Set aside.
Step 2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the spinach, and cook until bright green and just wilted. Drain and rinse with cold water immediately.
Step 3. Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl.
Step 4. Divide the noodles between two bowls. Spoon the sauce into each bowl and top with the minced tofu and spinach. You may want to warm the fully assembled bowls up for a minute in the microwave prior to serving. Garnish with the green parts of the scallions and serve.
Cooking Notes
To make a substitute for the Sichuan chile oil, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp neutral oil with a high smoke point, like avocado oil, along with 2 tsp gochugaru (Korean chile flakes that are more widely available), 1 bay leaf, a 1 inch stick of cinnamon, a ½ inch piece of ginger, and 1 star anise, if you have it. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, or until the oil simmers and the spices are fragrant. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove the bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger, and star anise, and use as directed in the recipe.
If you don’t have ground Sichuan peppercorns on hand, you can substitute ½ tsp cracked black pepper plus ½ tsp ground coriander seed. Thanks to The Kitchn for this tip!
Reprinted with permission from THE VEGETARIAN RESET by Vasudha Viswanath, The Collective Book Studio, January 2023. Photo credit Alexandra Shytsman.
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