Creature Of Habit
Anyone here is also a creature of habit? I like to do the same thing at the same time every day. Therefore, whenever I created a delicious recipe, I tend to cook the same dish over and over again until I get bored with it. In the past weeks, I have been going through all my old recipes and photos. It’s kind of interesting and at the same time amazing to see how much I have grown over the years. Not only photography skills, but also the use of ingredients and balance of flavors. However, being a local Hong Kong veganm one thing I notice is that, there seems to be a lack of vegan Chinese recipes on my blog. So here I am, creating a vegan sweet & sour sticky tofu recipe for y’all vegan Chinese food lovers 💃🏻
How I Came Up With This Recipe
I had a long episode which I ate tofu scramble nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY. I’m not even joking. This relationship lasts over a year until I found my new love – this sweet and sour sticky tofu.
Tofu is such a versatile ingredient. It’s not only a great source of plant protein, but it also goes well with sweet or savoury dish. Check my matcha tofu mousse and fig tofu mousse recipe for sweet recipes and this fool-proof baked tofu and tofu scramble for savoury recipes.
Meal Prep
As I have a full-time job, meal prepping is a huge part of my life. It has to be easy, delicious and can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. This vegan sweet & sour sticky tofu definitely checked all the boxes. What’s more, in order to bulk up the protein content to increase the level of satiation, I added some lentils. In order to make the tofu crispy without making a mess in the kitchen or using oil, I love baking them in the oven.
This dish is perfect for meal prep as it is not only filled with vegetables and plant-based proteins, but the sauce also pairs well with rice or noodles. If you are on a keto diet, you can also replace agave with monk fruit sweetener and rice with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.
Options For Everyone
For this recipe, I will include two ways of making it – crockpot method and stove top method. For 90% of the time, I use crockpot because I’m lazy. But I have to admit that the stove top method yield a better-tasting dish! The crockpot that I am using got the saute function and slow-cook function all-in-one. So I manage to cook this dish all in one pot. 😆Highly recommend for people with a busy lifestyle or doesn’t want to bother with dish washing 🤣
This portion will surely last you for a week. They are perfect to serve with rice or noodles. I am obsessed with the green pea fettuccine recently, so I have been serving it with that, and bonus point: more protein! If anyone ever asked you where do vegans get their protein again, just show them this recipe. Enjoy and happy cooking!
By the way, how do you like my new home here? Do you like it? Or is there anything you wish I could change? Comment below to let me know!
Easy Vegan Sweet & Sour Tofu
Course: MainCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes15
minutesIngredients
2 blocks firm tofu, cubed
1 cup dried lentils
Red, green, yellow bell pepper, 1 each, cubed
6 portobello mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- Sweet & Sour Sticky Sauce
1/4 cup agave syrup (or any other sweetener of your choice)
3 Tbsp liquid amino
1 Tbsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp chickpea flour
Directions
- Crockpot Method
- Preheat oven to 175°C or 350°F. Place the cubed tofu onto a baking tray lined with silicon mat. Bake for 15 mins on one side.
- After 15 mins, flip the tofu and bake on the other side for another 10 mins or until all sides are golden brown.
- While the tofu is baking, boil the dried lentils in boiling water for around 5-10 mins. You don’t need to boil them for too long as they will further be cooked in the slow cooker. Drain.
- Turn on the saute function of the multi cooker. Add a splash of water, then saute the diced onion until it becomes translucent and golden brown. You can add more water if needed.
- Fry together with minced garlic until fragrant.
- Next, add in mushrooms, dried thyme and sautéed until the mushrooms began to shrink, around 3-4 mins. Turn off the saute function and switch to slow-cook function (high setting).
- In a bowl, mix together all of the sweet & sour sticky sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce mixture into the slow cooker, together with the diced bell peppers and cooked lentils.
- Mix everything well and leave the slow cooker at high setting for 3-4 hours.
- 10 minutes before serving, add in the chopping green onions and let it cooked for a bit.
- Stove Top Method
- Follow the same procedures as the crockpot method until step 6.
- After sautéing the mushrooms, add the diced bell pepper, cooked lentils and sauce mixture to the pan. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add water if needed.
- 5 mins before serving, add in the chopping green onions and let it cooked for a bit.
I like to serve them with black bean noodles or green pea fettuccini, but as I said before, this dish goes well with rice or any other kind of noodles. The possibility is endless! Let me know what’s your favorite way to enjoy this if you made it 😚
