As the festive season is upon us, I thought I would share a great party food suggestion that is perfect for vegetarians but will be enjoyed by everyone. This dish is great visually and is really tasty – perfect with a nice glass of your favourite bubbles.
There are so many ways to enjoy tofu, and for those who are still a little wary of this ingredient, these canapés are a good starting place.
I usually eat tofu in a lot of Korean-style soups. It has a low calorie count and is packed full of protein, so is ideal as we eat our way through December.
Merry Christmas – and enjoy!
Tofu canapés
Ingredients:
500g firm tofu
1 tbspn oil
50g Swiss brown mushrooms
½ tbspn oil
Chung Jae Lee’s tofu canapés. Photo: Jacqui Way
1 tspn sugar
1 tspn Korean soy sauce
1 tspn minced garlic
Pinch sesame seeds
50g zucchini
½ tbspn oil
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
1 tspn sesame oil
½ tspn sesame seeds
50g pickled radish
1 tbpsn vinegar
½ tbspn sugar
3 tbpsn water
70g kimchi
1 tspn sugar
1 tspn sesame oil
Pinch sesame seeds
50g sundried tomatoes
50g English spinach
1 tbspn sesame oil
1 tbspn minced garlic
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
Method
Cut the mushrooms into fine slices; heat oil in a pan and fry with sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic and sesame seeds until just soft.
Julienne slice the zucchini; heat oil in a pan and fry with salt, pepper, sesame oil and sesame seeds until soft, but keeping the greenness.
Slice the pickled radish into small julienne-style pieces and mix gently with vinegar, sugar and water.
Fry the kimchi with the sugar, sesame oil and sesame seeds for 3-4 minutes.
Dice the sun-dried tomatoes.
Wash and drain the English spinach and cut finely into 1cm lengths. Then heat the sesame oil in a frypan and add the spinach, garlic, salt and pepper – this should only take about 2 -3 minutes.
Cut the tofu evenly into 12 pieces and, with a melon ball scoop, carefully remove a small amount of tofu where the vegetables will be placed. Then place the tofu in a pre-heated oven (80 degrees) for 10 minutes.
You will have enough topping to make 2 of each style with the already-prepared vegetables by simply styling the vegetables on top, creating an exquisite tofu canapé.
Chung Jae Lee is former head chef and owner of Adelaide’s Mapo Restaurant and is the author of Korean Cookbook: A Twist on the Traditional.
