This dish has so much going on. With an amazing variety of textures and flavors—sweet shallots and pineapple, tangy lime, cool cucumbers, salty hot-and-sour dressing, chewy tofu, crunchy salad, and toasted peanuts—this is a perfect dish for summer lunch or supper. Pan-frying the tofu is a quick way to brown it and give it a crisp skin. Then the tofu and pineapple chunks finish in a pineapple-lime marinade that reduces to envelop them in a shiny glaze. Doesn’t this sound good?
Serves 4
Prep time: about 1 hour
3 cucumbers
½ teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
1 red or orange bell pepper
2 tablespoons sunflower oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil
½ cup thinly sliced shallots or red onions
½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or Chinese chili paste
2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass, tender part only (optional)
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¾ cup pineapple juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or Chinese chili paste with garlic, more to taste
1 (16-ounce) block firm tofu
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
Salt
½ head lettuce, shredded
½ cup grated carrots
¼ cup toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Make the salad: Peel, halve lengthwise, and seed the cucumbers, then cut each half into 1-inch-thick crescents. Put the cucumber crescents into a colander, sprinkle with the salt, and place a weight on top, such as a zip-top bag filled with water or a heavy plate. Set aside to drain for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, halve, seed, and stem the bell pepper and cut into ½-inch-long strips. Set aside.
Make the dressing: In a small saucepan, warm the sunflower oil and cook the shallots with a sprinkle of salt until just wilted. Add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes and simmer for about 3 minutes. Set aside.
When the cucumbers have drained, rinse, pat dry, and toss in a bowl with the bell pepper strips and the dressing. Set aside.
Make the marinade: In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, soy sauce, lemongrass (if using), turmeric, lime zest and juice, pineapple juice, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Dry the tofu by wrapping it in folded paper towels, gently pressing out excess water, and patting it dry. Cut the block of tofu into three equal horizontal slices, stack them, and cut into 1-inch cubes.
In a large skillet on medium-high heat, warm the coconut oil until fairly hot. Add the tofu cubes in a single layer (be careful not to be splattered by the hot oil). Fry the tofu until it is brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes, then carefully turn over the cubes and fry until brown on the other sides, about 5 minutes. The browned tofu forms a crisp skin. Lower the heat to medium and pour the marinade over the tofu. Stir in the pineapple chunks. Gently toss the tofu and pineapple as the marinade cooks, thickens, and is absorbed, about 10 minutes. When finished, the tofu and pineapple will be coated with a shiny glaze. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
Compose the dish on a large, colorful platter or on individual salad plates. Make a bed of shredded lettuce, mound on cucumber salad and tofu, side by side. Sprinkle grated carrots, peanuts, and cilantro on top.
• Also good served on a bed of brown rice instead of lettuce.
• You can use unsweetened canned pineapple chunks instead of fresh pineapple. Drain it and reserve the juice for the marinade. If you don’t have ¾ cup of juice, add water to make that amount.
Your meal is taken care of, but Coconut Rice Pudding with Mangoes would be a lovely finish.