Zoodles with Crispy Tofu
Every now and then when I was working from an actual downtown office (remember those?!?), I’d have a “treat yo-self” lunch from the nearby poke stand. The meal was neither cheap nor the healthiest, especially once I’d had my way with a variety of sauce toppings. I’ve tried to recreate “poke bowls” at home using cooked salmon, but it just isn’t the same. I came up with a zoodles with crispy tofu bowl that served as both a healthier dish and curbed my poke craving with some of the similar flavors I love.
We are already two months into Chicago’s stay at home order and this week was the first time I made the same meal for dinner. I’ve had a really fun time coming up with new ideas for dinner now that I have the time to take 5-10-minute food prep breaks throughout the day and no commute slowing me down. The below dish was one of the simplest ones I have put together but one of my favorites, and for the blog’s sake, one of the most photogenic ones as well. The recipe below serves two people, but you can easily double it for a family or if you want to have leftovers the next day.
Ingredients:
Main Bowl
4 small/medium zucchini squashes
2 green onion bunches
1 block of extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon corn starch
Half a mango
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
Pickled onions
Spicy Yogurt Sauce
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon sriracha
½ teaspoon honey
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Press the tofu to get as much liquid out as possible. If you don’t have a tofu press then use a few big hardcover books with a sheet of wax paper as a barrier. The drier your tofu is, the crispier it will get in the oven
While your tofu is pressing, dice up your mango and slice the green onion thin and zoodle the noodles. If you don’t have a zoodler you can usually buy store bought zoodles these days.
Combine Greek yogurt, sriracha and honey to make the spicy mayo sauce
Once your tofu has been pressed chop into one-inch cubes and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and corn starch
Spray a baking pan covered in aluminum foil with olive oil or canola spray and space out tofu cubes so none touch
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes on the bottom rack turning half-way through
Top your zoodles with green onion, mango, pickled onions and tofu and drizzle with coconut aminos (1 tablespoon each dish) and spicy mayo sauce
