Brown Rice with Tofu

Have you seen The Wolf of Wall Street? My daughter and I saw it last Friday night. It was a movie centered on overindulgence and downright debauchery. It was wickedly funny, but it did hit a nerve with me. I definitely overindulged this holiday season, not quite to the Wolf of Wall Street’s excesses, but I overindulged nonetheless.

I’m ready to get back into my healthy eating habits, and this Brown Rice with Tofu is a good start. What is healthier than tofu and brown rice? And, as a bonus, it tastes great! The garlic and ginger add a punch of flavor to the rice and the browned tofu adds a good protein source. If you are ready to get back to healthy eating, go ahead and try Brown Rice with Tofu.  

Brown Rice with Tofu
Adapted from Power Foods, by Whole Living Magazine 
Printable Recipe 
14 ounces tofu
1 ½ cups medium-grain brown rice
2 ¾ cups water
½ ounce dried shitake mushrooms (broken if large)
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 dried red chili, stemmed, seeded and crumbled
Coarse salt
1 ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, separated
5 tablespoons plus one teaspoon low-sodium tamari soy sauce, separated
3 ounces baby spinach
6 scallions, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
1 ½ tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

Place tofu on a plate lined with a paper towel, cover with another paper towel and place a weighted plate on top of the tofu to press the tofu and remove excess water. Press the tofu for about 30 minutes.

In a large saucepan, stir together rice, water, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, chile and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat.

In the mean time, mix together 3 tablespoons tamari soy sauce and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Remove pressed tofu from plate and cut tofu crosswise into ½ inch slices. Dip tofu slices into the tamari mixture and brown in a skillet over medium high heat. Cut browned tofu into cubes, set aside.

Gently stir tofu cubes, spinach, scallions, cilantro, 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil into the rice mixture, let stand for 2 or 3 minutes and serve.