Recipe & Images: Alison’s Pantry
Serves 4
I love Japanese flavours, especially pickled ginger, which is a fabulous way of lifting a dish and keeping it lovely and fresh. Tofu is so often ignored or overlooked – but I see it as the perfect vehicle for other flavours. I’m fond of using the rice and grain medley as a staple for salads – it’s an excellent base for just about anything you like – be it roast winter vegetables and a bit of chevre; or folded together with some hot-smoked salmon, shaved fennel, capers and dill.
400g firm tofu
1 tbsp miso paste
soy sauce
sesame oil
1 lemon
2 cups Alison’s Pantry rice & grain medley
3 tbsp Alison’s Pantry ground almonds
2 tbsp Alison’s Pantry sesame seeds
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
cooking oil
large handful of green beans
2 tbsp pickled ginger, finely sliced
1 spring onion, shredded
1 tsp Alison’s Pantry sesame seeds, to serve
Cut the tofu into 4cm chunks. Combine the miso paste with 2 tbsp of soy sauce and a tbsp of sesame oil and a squeeze of lemon. Drizzle over the tofu and gently toss together so that the pieces are well covered. Cover and pop in the fridge, leave to marinade for a couple of hours, or overnight, if possible.
Add the rice and grain medley to a saucepan, cover with water and leave to simmer gently over a moderate heat for 15 minutes. Drain once cooked.
In the meantime, combine the ground almond, sesame seed, flour and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Spread out on a plate and then dredge the tofu through so that it is covered on all sides.
Get a frying pan going over a moderately high heat. Add some oil, let it heat up and then gently fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides. Wipe down the pan, add a little sesame oil and quickly fry the green beans for several minutes. Add the rice and grain medley and quickly heat through, followed by a little soy sauce to taste and the ginger. Toss through the tofu pieces, then scatter over the spring onion and sesame seeds and serve.
