Slow Cooker: Tofu in Peanut Sauce

Tags

crock pot, peanut butter, peanut sauce, slow cooker, spinach, tofu, white rice

After a very busy week, I thought long and hard about my recipes for the week. I really wanted something kinda spicy and I wanted something that I could make but not miss a minute of the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives marathon… Hey, as long as im being honest, right?

Truthfully, I just really wanted to use my slow cooker. I get into these little phases where I want to overuse an appliance and get absolutely bored with it… long time followers might note the month or so that I posted about baking goodies with my kitchen aid mixer (that is now officially 1 year old)… But all the appliances deserve a little love, right? (My dutch oven is begging to be used and Im listening!)

Another factor is recipe building this month is savings. Holidays are coming up! Everyone feels the pinch during the holidays and every year I am amazed at how i can pull off gift-giving on the “salary” I make.

When I feel the pinch, i opt for things like tofu. Relatively inexpensive. Versatile. Healthy. So, with a little inspiration from the crockpot lady, I sought her guidance as I prepared this tasty slow cooker delight:

Tofu in Peanut Sauce. You will note how gorgeous hers looks and how mine looks like diarrhea…i promise its tastier than it looks.

Ing:
1 block of extra firm tofu (diced into 1 inch cubes)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Cooking spray
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup water (my addition)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice (this is approximate- i used the juice of two limes)
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 Tablespoon of garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper for taste.
10oz (at least) of fresh baby spinach
Cooked white or basmati rice for serving

Dredge the tofu in cornstarch and brown in a pan coated with cooking spray. When the tofu is goldben brown on all sides, set aside.

In a 4 qt crock pot, combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce and lime juice and give it a whisk. (the peanut butter is difficult to stir without the liquids). Add the ginger, garlic, red pepper and S&P. Whisk again and make sure its seasoned to your liking. Add the tofu and cook on high for 1-2 hrs or on low for 2-3 hours.

30 minutes before the end cooking time, add the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the crock pot until the time is up.

WHen its done, fold the spinach into the tofu and serve over rice.

I ended up tweaking this recipe as the sauce was too thick to coat anything (pretty sure thats the cornstarch’s fault) so i diluted it every now and then wen i would peek into the tofu. While it looks like shit  UGLY, i can assure you, this was awesome!

It tastes especially good the next day after the flavors have had time to develop. I served this with white rice and made all my coworkers jealous when i reheat this fragrant bowl of yum.

Enjoy!

ONLY ONE MORE DAY TO ENTER THE HERSHEY’S CONTEST! Contest ends 11:59 pm on December 14th!