Sunday, 24 January 2010

tofu rendang

We had a bit of a drama-rama Wednesday night, and Danni woke up feeling moderately under the weather, and had a bit of a sick day. In my family, the answer to 'feeling cold and flu-ey' is always curry, so I suggested we have a bit of a Malaysian day. 'When don't we?' Danni asked, and I suppose this is true, so we followed our delicious Malaysian treats with some delicious Malaysian curry.

tofu rendang

I haven't made rendang in ages, and was hoping to try something new, so I modified this recipe at the star online (which to my shame, ahaha, is often my first stop when looking for Malaysian recipes).

tofu rendang - in progress

Tofu Rendang

Rendang renders all the way down, so don't expect too much liquid from this dish.

ingredients
300ish grams of firm tofu
1 stalk lemon grass
5 fresh lime kaffir leaves
300 ml light coconut milk
2 tbl lime juice
quarter cup of stock (a vegie beef, or vegie)

for the paste
4 shallots
5 or 6 large red chillis
1 clove garlic
2 tbl dried chilli flakes
20g galangal
one small knob ginger
8 cashews
half teaspoon ground tumeric

method
Pound together the paste ingredients until a chunky paste is formed. You can make it a smooth paste, but I like it to still have some bits in it.

Squish out the water in the tofu. In a thin-bottomed pot over medium heat, add a little peanut oil with the lemon grass and the tofu. Fry the tofu for about five minutes, until it starts to colour, then add the paste. Keep frying for another three or four minutes, stirring constantly so that it doesn't stick too much. Add a tiny bit more oil if necessary. Add the coconut milk, and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for about twenty five minutes, lid off. Stir occasionally, and about halfway through add the stock.

Add the shredded lime kaffir leaves and the lime juice, and simmer for another five minutes, or until the entire mixture has well reduced.

I served this with some bok choy and bean shoots in a little garlic-soy sauce.

9 comments:

BrisVegan said...

Oh yum! I have been on a curry kick lately. This looks great.

Penny said...

That looks really great!!! Now I'm hungry.

steph said...

Thanks! It was pretty delicious!

Johanna GGG said...

looks delicious - roast vegies are my comfort food - my ango irish heritage didn't take the weather here into account - curry sounds much better for this weather - I find them too intimidating but this looks like something I'd love to try some time

Hannah said...

The tofu looks so glossy in the first photo - yum! Do you think one could sub in extra ginger for the galangal in the paste component, in a pinch?

Indonesian Potency said...

good information...thanks

steph said...

Johanna - oh, curries are things I make around here at least once a week, I love them. Don't be intimidated! Think of it like making stew.

Hannah, you can sub in ginger for the galangal. It will change the flavour a little bit, but overall will be okay (if you get a chance, lots of Chinese grocers have frozen galangal).

Anonymous said...

yum! this looks so delicious!!

steph said...

Thanks Carla! IT IS! :o)