Spicy Thai Braised Kale and Tofu

G - BOMBS

Category: Main Dishes - Vegan

Thai peanut sauce made with peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, onion and a chili pepper gives a kick to this kale and baked tofu stir fry. Add an extra jalapeno pepper if you like it spicy.

  • Recipe
  • My Notes
  • Nutrition Facts
  • Ratings & Comments (33)
4

Ingredients

16 ounces firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups no-salt-added or low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup no salt or oil added peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste (see note)
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's MatoZest (or other no-salt seasoning blend, adjusted to taste)
1 bunch kale, tough stems and center ribs removed and leaves chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tofu cubes on a lightly-oiled baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

Heat a large saute pan and add onion, ginger, and jalapeno. Cook until onion has softened, adding
1-2 teaspoons of water as needed to prevent sticking. Add chili powder and cook one more minute.

Whisk in vegetable broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, MatoZest and bring to a boil. Gradually add kale a few handfuls at a time, stirring to let it wilt down. Add baked tofu, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until kale is tender. Stir in lime juice and top with sliced scallions.

Note: Select tomato products packaged in glass or cartons. These materials do not contain BPA.

My Notes: (Click Edit to enter your notes about this recipe)

Serves 4

Per Serving:

Calories 331
Protein 19 g
Carbohydrates 24 g
Sugars 8 g
Total Fat 20 g
Saturated Fat 3.9 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 157 mg
Fiber 5.1 g
Beta-Carotene 3554 ug
Vitamin C 58 mg
Calcium 152 mg
Iron 3.8 mg
Folate 69 ug
Magnesium 114 mg
Potassium 801 mg
Zinc 2.1 mg
Selenium 3.3 ug

My Rating: 
(click on a star to select your rating)

Trinnis

12/06/2011 01:51 PM

Rated this recipe:

I love rich food and this is the richest vegan dish I've ever had - almost too rich for me. The sauce was creamy and thick. I admit that I substituted chicken broth for the vegetable broth (as I usually do) because I like the flavor. This dish was very good and the wonderful aroma even made my son curious enough to try it. It was my first time cooking with tofu, which I had never liked before, but I did enjoy it this time. I might try a second jalepeno next time because mine didn't come out spicy at all. As good as I thought this was, I couldn't get over the feeling that it was missing something - perhaps some sweetness?

valuliana

01/29/2012 03:23 PM

Rated this recipe:

I just made this for lunch and it totally hit the spot! I was craving something really bad from a fast food chain (ahem, the golden arch) and decided to have this instead. I'm so glad I did! Rich, creamy and healthy since I made it with homemade peanut butter (thank you VitaMix!) It was perfect and delicious!

laurabee

06/08/2012 09:28 PM

Rated this recipe:

This was delicious!!

SkippyOne

11/13/2012 03:13 PM

Rated this recipe:

This recipe takes awhile, but it is worth it, especially if you love hot food as much as I do. I recommend getting all the chopping done first, and combining items that go together (e.g. the onions, jalapeno, ginger in one bowl, and the veggie broth, peanut butter, spices, tomato paste whisked together in advance in another). I haven't tried MatoZest yet but found Penzey's  Bangkok blend brought a nice kick to this dish. I'd add a little additional water with the chili powder. I tossed my tofu cubes a second time and baked them for an additional few minutes. You might want to add more than a tbsp of lime juice, too, as the lime brings a wonderful tang to the recipe.

This comment was last edited on 05/03/2020 03:49 PM

haiku

11/14/2012 04:22 PM

Rated this recipe:

Really liked it... Very rich. When cold the sauce tasted like an Indian korma almost. Added more lime than it says. Very easy to make.

VERONIQUE

08/14/2013 03:15 PM

Rated this recipe:

This dish was soooooooooooooo delicious. I felt like we were eating at our favorite Thai restaurant. Yum Yum and so easy to make. Thank you Dr. Fuhrman

KathyG

11/03/2013 10:30 PM

Rated this recipe:

I made this from the recipe in the new Eat to Live Cookbook because the picture looked gorgeous. My husband and I both give it 5 stars! It was hard not to have seconds but we wanted to have leftovers for tomorrow night. I wouldn't change anything!

belcanto

03/05/2014 04:54 PM

Rated this recipe:

I made this dish and loved it, but made it a second time with cauliflower instead of tofu. Omg, it's amazing. I roasted the cauliflower, treating it like the tofu in the recipe.

smgrundy

03/10/2015 05:23 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

The Nutrition info says 61mg of cholesterol? Where from? I'm assuming (read=hoping) this is a misprint...

terre

03/10/2015 06:19 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

That's a great suggestion, belcanto! Do you have any recipes posted here?

Bruce Spence

03/10/2015 06:42 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Never mind the cholesterol info, look at the saturated fat amount. . . Can't possibly be correct.

nutriwing

03/11/2015 10:45 AM

Rated this recipe:

We have made this several times and we love it. Tried with a little less peanut butter and came out fine. Think I will steam the kale while preparing the dish and than add it towards the end to cut the preparation time some.

Jeannie131

03/11/2015 06:12 PM

Rated this recipe:

I used almond butter because I'm allergic to peanuts, and it was really good! I added Cholulu at the end to make it more spicy. My husband said he thinks it would have tasted much better with peanut butter. It was so rich and delicious that I also ate it for breakfast today!

susanc1007

08/19/2015 11:16 AM

Rated this recipe:

I really enjoy this recipe. I make a few adjustments for personal preferences, now that I've made it a few times:

- I plan for this dish to be about 3 servings.
- I reduce the total amount of tofu to 8 oz.
- I don't bake the tofu. I press extra firm tofu then add it into the dish without baking. I like the softer texture here.
- I add 1 TBSP of my homemade red curry paste (very low sodium).
- I use a little less peanut butter (and buy it without added salt or sugar).
- I use frozen kale instead of fresh for convenience.

lushtone

07/18/2016 11:48 PM

Rated this recipe:

My first attempt with the Eat to Live cookbook. Delicious! I'm on my way...

gdbolan

02/18/2017 03:38 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

We love this recipe and have made it many times. I substitute sunflower seeds (blended together with veggie broth and tomato paste) for the peanut butter because of an allergy and it's still great. I imagine it would work with cashews or other nuts too depending on what you can eat. I also sometimes add some chopped zucchini to make it go further.

penserosa

02/12/2018 08:17 PM

Rated this recipe:

Possibly the best nutritarian recipe I’ve tried! I added mushrooms for extra value. 

pattybauer

03/11/2018 11:58 AM

Rated this recipe:

This is so delicious. It is the first tofu dish that I can say I loved! I think baking the tofu before adding it to the dish made it have a nicer consistency. I also wrapped the tofu in paper towels and put a heavy pot on top of it for about 20 minutes before cubing it so that took additional moisture out of the tofu. I will definitely make again.

 

This comment was last edited on 03/11/2018 11:58 AM

chatterbox

03/15/2018 07:38 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Hi!  Has anyone made oil-free peanut butter with a food processor or a Vitamix?  I am about a week in to going SOS (salt, oil, sugar) free, and I really want to stick to the plan.

Also: I did see the bit about adding tofu without baking it, which is a good idea for keeping the oil out; any chance, though, someone has an oil-free solution to baking tofu?  

BrentH replies:

03/24/2018 12:54 PM

Rated this recipe:

To preclude needing oil, I use silicone baking mats, usually on top of a cookie sheet. To turn the tofu cubes for this recipe, I roll them 1/4 turn using my fingers.

This reply was last edited on 03/24/2018 12:59 PM

Ballbusta-b replies:

01/23/2022 05:22 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

I know your question is an old one, but yes! Homemade peanut butter is soooo easy to make. Just put peanuts in your food processor and let it run for like 5 min. Done!

whoster69

04/25/2018 09:03 PM

Rated this recipe:

I was surprised how much I liked this.  I'm not a fan of kale.  It takes like rubber to me and I'm concerned about its ability to pick up heavy metals out soil (farmers used to plant it in their fields to pull out the heavy metals).  We used baby kale in the recipe and I was able to eat it.  It was even better on the second day for lunch as leftovers.  I really liked the spicy flavor.  Rating:  4 out of 5.

Johncgandy

04/27/2018 08:03 PM

Rated this recipe:

This is Day 5 dinner of the T-20 program, except the T-20 adds mushrooms. This recipe is good enough to serve to SAD guests!  The combination of ginger, jalapeño, and peanut butter gives it an incredible taste; we served it over wild rice and loved it!

wzella

10/24/2018 07:33 PM

Rated this recipe:

Thus recipe is sooooo good.  It is a keeper.  I made it on Monday and my husband begged me to make it again tonight (Wedesday).  He wouldn't normally ask for a vegan meal, but this is one of the best vegan recipes I've ever used.

I bumped up the vegetables by adding some organic  cauliflower and heritage carrots cut into smallish pieces and pre-cooked when I added the tofu.  To add even more color, I used the green part of a leek instead of the onion called for at the beginning.  The colors of all these vegetables were gorgeous.  To serve, I topped it with a few cashews for even more decadence, and served it with a small amount of quinoa. 

Vervygrrl

11/18/2018 10:16 AM

Rated this recipe:

An incredible dish. Here are my tips: 1) Use a very large pan. 2) Use two bunches of kale instead of one as it reduces dramatically when cooked. 3) To bake the tofu: Place cubed tofu onto a parchment (or silicone mat) covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle liberally with curry powder, ginger powder and onion powder, then mix gently to cover thoroughly. Sometimes I add a couple of spritzes of liquid aminos. Bake 20 minutes, then turn over and continue baking. Prepared this way the tofu is so delicious we usually eat some before putting it into the dish. 

This comment was last edited on 11/18/2018 10:16 AM

Fruitloops

02/01/2019 09:55 AM

Rated this recipe:

This is so good!  I thought it needed extra lime juice--especially squeezed on before serving.  So yummy!!

The Major

06/15/2019 04:57 PM

Rated this recipe:

DUDE.... This is the bomb!  I'm a big fan of the African West Lentil soup and this is every bit as good.  Do yourself a favor and make it.  The ONLY thing I changed was to add a half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes ('cause I like the heat) and I backed off the peanut butter a bit.  I went with a third of a cup instead of a half.  This saved some fat at the expense of some protein but whatev's...its delicious!  To give my review some context, I am NOT a vegan and I am NOT a vegetarian.  Heck I'm not even really a NUTRITARIAN.  Like many of you, I was primarily a meat eater.  Easily in the single digit fiber per day category.  For the last 100+ days I've been almost exclusively a plant eater.  Less than 1% of my caloric intake has been from animal or dairy products in that time.  I still consider myself an omnivore, but just eat primarily plant based nutrition.  I'm in the 50+ fiber per day category now and feeling great!  So much great plant based food out there.  This is one of the best recipes I've found.

This comment was last edited on 06/15/2019 04:57 PM

barbjenkins

02/08/2021 06:09 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Can i successfully freeze leftovers ?

Fulfie

04/12/2021 12:29 PM

Rated this recipe:

4 plus stars for sauce. Used red pepper flakes instead of jalapeño and chili. Made half the recipe but doubled vege broth and added shrimp and other veggies. He said it was his favorite sauce so far

catherine3136

05/05/2021 03:01 PM

Rated this recipe:

Not great, tasted like eating vegetables in tomato soup 

CleanLivingDiva

09/29/2022 07:13 PM

Rated this recipe:

This was the most satisfying meal I've made from this website. I took the advice of other posters and cut back the PB to about 1/3 cup and it was perfect. Served with cauliflower rice which lightened it up nicely. I will definitely be making this again!

eellison

07/01/2023 12:17 AM

Rated this recipe:

Great flavour that I found improved with time.  I marinated the tofu in lemon juice and herbs for about an hour before preparing this recipe for some added flavour.

Rochellepryor

07/08/2023 08:15 AM

Rated this recipe:

Delicious with shrimp instead of Tofu also

free2choose

09/20/2023 02:33 PM

Rated this recipe:

This is my new favorite!

dancb

03/16/2024 10:19 PM

Rated this recipe:

This was great. Added some mushrooms, red bell pepper, and garlic, Recuced the peanut butter a bit. I will make this one again!