:-) High protein, low sugar
Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic TAMARI
2 Big blocks very firm TOFU
2 lg cloves GARLIC or to taste
8 oz whole wheat LINGUINE NOODLES
1 tbsp ALMOND OIL
2 tbsp SESAME OIL
1 bunch SCALLIONS
1 cup smooth low fat PEANUT BUTTER
1 cup WATER
1/4 cup SOY SAUCE
1 tsp THAI CHILI PASTE or to taste
2 healthy handfuls fresh SNOW PEAS, clip ends and pull the fibrous spines out.
1 cup unsalted PEANUTS
Dice the TOFU into 1" cubes, place into a container with a cover along with the tamari. I usually coat the tofu by putting the top on and gently overturning the container a couple of times. You will want to marinate the tofu for at least a half hour, an hour would be good.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and brush a very thin layer of almond oil over the surface of a cookie sheet. While waiting for the oven, put a pot of water on to boil for the lo mien noodles.
Spread the marinated tofu cubes out on the cookie sheet, spray the tops with Pam, and put into the oven to bake. Watch them carefully, you want them to brown to a golden hue but if they start puffing up you have the oven too hot. Keep watching and turning them as you follow the rest of the steps. Don't forget every time you turn them to spray them with Pam.
While the tofu is cooking and you're waiting for the water to boil, slice up the scallions, crush and dice the garlic and mince the peanuts. Set them out to the ready.
When the water is ready, cook the noodles until almost but not quite done, according to the the package instructions. These types of noodles cook very fast, so be vigilant. When they are done, pour into a colander and rinse with cold water.
Set the cup of water to the ready in a small saucepan, and get the soy sauce and peanut butter ready to go.
In a wok or large non-stick saute pan add the snow peas and noodles to the sesame oil and saute on medium high until nicely golden in places.
Start the small pot of water to boil.
Back to the saute, add the garlic and scallions, saute a little longer. Turn heat down to low.
Take the boiling water off the heat, immediately add the peanut butter, whisk until smooth. You will want a smooth thick yet spoon-able sauce but if it seems not rich enough, add more peanut butter a couple of TBSP at a time. Whisk in the soy sauce.
Gently toss the tofu and the peanut sauce into the saute mixture and when coated divide out onto four plates, sprinkle with a a generous amount of minced peanuts and serve immediately.
If this is allowed to set long before serving, the peanut butter will thicken and spoil the texture.
Makes for good left-overs, cold as well as heated.
Nutrition information: Calories: 387, fat: 22.63, saturated fat: 4.5g, cholesterol: 14.29mg, sodium: 281.5mg, total carbs: 27.75g, dietary fiber: 5.61g, sugars: 4.82g, protein: 13.49g.
