Tofu shashlik recipe
A flavoursome vegan dish inspired by a takeaway favourite, with crispy tofu in a rich tomato sauce.
Recipe from Cooking on a Bootstrap by Jack Monroe, available to buy now (Bluebird, £15.99).
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, finely sliced
- 4 fat garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 small piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin, seeds or ground
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
- 100 g peppers, chopped
- 200 g frozen spinach
- 100 g firm tofu, drained (see tip) and diced
- 2 tsp any type of flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 100 g frozen peas, or a handful of greens (optional)
- 1 small onion, finely sliced
- 4 fat garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 small piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin, seeds or ground
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
- 3.5 oz peppers, chopped
- 7.1 oz frozen spinach
- 3.5 oz firm tofu, drained (see tip) and diced
- 2 tsp any type of flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 3.5 oz frozen peas, or a handful of greens (optional)
- 1 small onion, finely sliced
- 4 fat garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 small piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin, seeds or ground
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
- 3.5 oz peppers, chopped
- 7.1 oz frozen spinach
- 3.5 oz firm tofu, drained (see tip) and diced
- 2 tsp any type of flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 3.5 oz frozen peas, or a handful of greens (optional)
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Tofu
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 35 mins
- Serves: 2
Step-by-step
- Toss the onion, garlic and ginger into a saucepan with a splash of the oil. Add the spices and cook on medium heat for a few minutes so the onion, garlic and ginger softens.
- Pour in the tomatoes and add the peppers and spinach, stir well, and transfer to a back burner on low heat to cook. This forms the sauce for the shashlik and will benefit from the longest possible cooking time you can bear to give it. An hour is ideal but not everyone’s budgets and patience will stretch to that, so 15 minutes is just fine.
- When the sauce is thickened, you can start to cook the tofu. Pop it in a bowl with the flour and a pinch of salt. Give it a shake to coat it and slightly rough up the edges – this is important for the crisp factor, as dishevelled edges cook faster.
- Gently grease a frying pan with a little of the oil and pop over high heat to warm it, then carefully add the tofu. Cook for 3–4 minutes, then turn the tofu over to cook it on the other side. A cube has six sides, remember, so there is going to be some serious turning over to do if you are determined to have the crispiest tofu in all the land. When it is as crisp as you like, remove it and pop it in the pan of sauce sitting on the back of the stove.
- Give it a quick stir and stir through the peas or greens.
TIP: For the crispiest tofu, make sure all of the excess water is gently squeezed out, similar to how you would gently squeeze a mozzarella ball. Either place it in a sieve over the sink with a side plate over the top, and pop a tin or two of beans on top of the plate. The weighted pressure pushes the liquid out of the tofu and down the sink. Or, wrap it several times in a clean flat tea towel and gently press it between your hands over the sink, where the tea towel will absorb a good deal of the liquid. Either way, use ‘firm’ tofu, and give it a squish.
This recipe is from Cooking on a Bootstrap by Jack Monroe, available to buy now (Bluebird, £15.99). Photography by Mike English.
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