Chiang Mer II

Tried it again, this time including mushrooms and cilantro as promised. But I also added a full 6oz can of tomato paste and a drained 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (no salt added). Then I made one other change, after Paul surprisingly was willing to try it: I used extra-firm tofu instead of chicken.

Ingredients:
EVOO
1 onion, diced
2 or 3 carrots, diced
1 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced, or to taste
1 package pre-sliced baby bella mushrooms (or plain ol' white mushrooms)
1 pack or two handfuls fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 pack extra-firm tofu
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
4 to 5 Tablespoons of mild curry paste
1/2 pack (1/2 lb) spaghetti or fetuccini


Please ignore the indisputable proof of my alcoholism in the background and just focus on the foreground.

Drain tofu, slice into cubes, and spread in an even layer on paper towels. Top with a cutting board (or something flat and stiff) and top with a few heavy kitchen objects. This is to press the tofu a bit and get out all the extra moisture. Leave it like this until you're ready to cook it.

Next put the water on to boil for the pasta. The rest of the meal should take just a little longer to cook than the time to cook the pasta start to finish.

Sauté the onions, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms in a teensy bit of EVOO until soft. Add tofu and continue to cook until tofu is heated and veggies are starting to brown.

Add curry paste and stir to coat everything. Cook until heated.
Add tomato paste and stir to coat everything again; keep cooking!
Add diced tomatoes, and cook until everything is hot.

At this point, pasta should be finished cooking and drained; add it to the pan and stir it all up. Remove from heat and serve!

The curry paste I use has PLENTY of salt in it, so I haven't added any anywhere else; also, it's spicy enough for me already, so I didn't add any pepper, but you certainly could, or you could use a hotter curry paste to begin with.

We both liked the tofu! It basically had the consistency of mild cheese like you get in some Indian dishes, and tasted like the sauce. And it was much healthier for us! I'm excited and plan to purchase extra-firm tofu to substitute in to more dishes from now on. I'm also excited that we now have a really delicious and not-too-difficult dish we could prepare for a vegan guest.


Yum!