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Boozy Mango Tofu!

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Boozy mango tofu

This blogging journey of mine has introduced me to friends, taken me places, and made me step outside of my comfort zone in experimenting with foods -and beverages- way more than I would have done on my own.

A couple of months ago, I was fortunate to be accepted as a Recipe Redux member. As a recipe redux member, we are challenged to come up with a healthy recipe using an ingredient/theme specified: one month it was edible flowers and another month it was teas, both times I was excited as I had had some experience cooking with both. This month however, I was a little out of my element as this months’ theme/ingredient was “Spirits, extracts and other alcohols”.

tofu with mango and passionfruit vodka

I am not much of a drinker, I don’t buy alcohol unless a friend is coming over who I know would like a glass and then I make her take the bottle home because otherwise a few months down the road, it will end up falling off of a top shelf as I struggle to get a bowl off it (yes, i speak from experience and did you know- wine is harder than jello to clean up? 😕 ).

So for this month’s challenge I went into a bona fide liqueur store and perused the aisles like I was a connoisseur and 😯 GAH I was so lost – there were so many huge bottles and they were not cheap…and my friend who is a wine drinker happens to be preggers now and I cannot pawn the rest off on her…so I squatted down (Thank you P90X legs and back) and started looking at the lower shelves with the more economically priced spirits. I found a “smoky toned blackberry” wine and just as I was getting ready to checkout, I saw a huge shelf of mini bottles right by the register…with this little, pretty,single serving bottle – I saw pink and read “mango and passion fruit” and I was happy!

kinky liquer

Till I went home and tasted a drop – 😡 GAH – this stuff burned! I kinda sort of (after drinking a glass or five of water) could make out the fruitiness but I figured if I cooked with it, all the alcohol would be burned off leaving only the fruitiness behind.

mango and green pepper

I used tofu as tofu is pretty good at absorbing the flavors it is embraced with instead of fighting with them. I first sauteed some onions till they caramelized and then threw in the tofu and some ginger and garlic and let it brown while absorbing the sweet, caramelized onions, the bold garlic and the spicy ginger.

tofu

I added some mango to mirror the mango in the vodka and some green pepper for variety. I was going to throw in some orange juice when my daughter caught me and shot me the stank eye and said she would willingly be my guinea pig aka taste tester if I left the orange juice out (she has unresolved issues with oranges); besides she said, it was bad enough I was giving her 15 year young self a dish with alcohol!

Wait! What?!

I am not quite sure how she does so well in science in school when she argued every aspect of my explanation of how the alcohol burns out while being cooked…wait, maybe it’s the arguing that makes her a teachers pet which leads to her good grades! hmmmmm….

vodka liquer and tofu with mango and pepper

 

 

Boozy Mango Tofu!

Ingredients

  • 1 single serving mini bottle of "Kinky" liqueur, Vodka with mango/blood orange & passion-fruit
  • 1 container extra firm tofu -blotted dry and cubed
  • 1.5 teaspoons chopped ginger
  • 1/2 a red onion chopped
  • 1/2 a white onion chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 mango diced
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • sat and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Juice of 1/2 a lime

Instructions

  1. Saute onions on a low flame till caramelized (about 20-25 minutes, I usually chop up the other ingredients while waiting)
  2. Add tofu and garlic and ginger and let tofu brown on sides (about 5-7 minutes on each side)
  3. Add water (if needed)
  4. Add in the lime, mango, green pepper, and paprika and mix well
  5. Add the liqueur and salt and pepper to taste, let cook for 10 more minutes, gently stirring throughout.
  6. Serve with rice or bread or eat straight up!
© Shashi

 



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Comments

  1. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

    LOL about the alcohol on the top shelf and it not burning off in the recipe. I read somewhere that most of it burns off but a small amount remains unless you set it on fire. I’m not sure what to believe. If it tastes good, I use it. 🙂

    Reply

  6. spicedblog

    Hahaha…I love that your daughter has “unresolved issues” with orange juice. Maybe you just need to put her in a room with a bag of oranges and tell her she can’t come out until she makes some new friends. some round orange friends! This looks delicious…oh, and I cracked up at your story of the liquor store adventure! 🙂

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Haha – thanks David! Once I tried putting an orange in her lunch bag and she brought the whole thing back uneaten! Maybe if I chuck some oranges mixed with apricots and mangoes at her, she will succumb – things are gonna get messy up in here! 🙂

      Reply

    • Shashi

      Ha – Thanks Ashley!
      Sometime I sneak an orange into her lunch box and she will bring her whole lunch home – uneaten! Fortunately she eats all other orange veggies/fruits! 🙂

      Reply

  13. apuginthekitchen

    Really creative Shashi, I think it sounds wonderful. I do love wine both to drink and cook with, spirits also have their place. I think the glazed tofu with a steaming bowl of rice is a great meal.

    Reply

  16. Amanda @ .running with spoons.

    This sounds incredible, Shashi! And your pictures are gorgeous! <3 I'd probably be in lots of trouble if I had to come up with a dish using alcohol as well… I'm not really the biggest drinker either, and I'm completely cluless when it comes to telling the difference between a good bottle vs. a bad bottle, or knowing what kind of alcohol goes with what kind of food. I think I'll just stick to oats, AB, and chocolate 😉

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Thanks so much Amanda! Your sweet words mean a lot, my friend!
      I got into a conversation with a lady at the store and she mentioned that so long as I was cooking with it, it really didn’t have to be the best wine/liquor around – which was food for thought for me!
      I would take an oats, AB and chocolate shake (or anything) over a glass of wine ANYTIME 🙂

      Reply

  21. Kelly

    I am drooling over all that gorgeous mango and I love that you combined it with tofu! I definitely need to try this out. Hehe you are too funny girl, I am lost at the liqueur store too so I may substitute the liqueur with orange juice instead since oranges and I are still friends 🙂

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Hahaha – thanks so much Kelly! I was so close to sneaking that OJ into this…I think Orange juice would work great – cannot wait to see your version! 🙂

      Reply

  23. Farrah

    haha, I’m with you on that! I never have alcohol, so I had to get somewhat creative. The one you picked up sounds amazing though! I love all the fruits in it! :]

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Thanks so much Farrah – I have to be honest – I picked it because it was such a pretty pink – there was another gorgeous blue one, but I wasn’t sure if it would have stained the tofu – blue tofu might not be so appetizing. 🙂

      Reply

  24. genevieve y

    Ooo, I have never seen boozy tofu before! Looks great. And I totally understand where you’re coming from about having to clean up wine… oh, the stains I’ve had to get out of my clothes/carpet!

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Thanks so much Genevieve – one time I dropped a bottle off a top shelf and red wine splashed everywhere! GAH – wine can go places jello cannot! 🙂

      Reply

  25. Kim

    I don’t drink much either. Oops – you know that was a bold-faced lie!! I love my happy hour cocktails – so when we meet, I will buy the drinks!!
    And, my 15 year old is the same way about the whole cooking with alcohol – I try to never let him know if I put wine or any alcohol into a dish because he sort of freaks out about it!!!

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Hahahahaha!!!! Kim, thank you for the chuckle – it’s amazing how much laughter a little 5 word sentence can generate!
      You are on, my friend – and I will bring the chocolate! 🙂

      Reply

  28. Bam's Kitchen

    Beautiful dish and your tofu is perfectly brown. I have not seen any Kinky Liquor on the shelves in HK but I bet any fruity cooler would be nice here. What a fun post. Just pinned.

    Reply

  29. Khushboo Thadani (@KhushbooThadani)

    OMG yuuum- great use of alcohol! I would never think to pair alcohol with tofu but this sounds like the perfect summer dish! I hope you picked up a bottle of vino to enjoy on the side ;)!

    Reply

  31. kellie anderson

    Saw this over at The Spicy Rd and just had to stop by. Such an interesting combination of flavours. Living in the UK I doubt we have this liqueur, but I think a spoonful of yuzu ‘honey tea’ (like a marmalade) would be a great sub. Yum! Pinning.

    Reply

  32. Amy @ Long Drive Journey

    I have never tried tofu before! Actually, that’s a lie. I had it once because I thought it was chicken…and I’m not sure what I think about it! I guess I need to try yours!

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Hahahaha – I don’t believe you thought it was chicken – come to Atlanta and I will make you all the tofu you can eat – PS I will make sure you know it’s not chicken 😉

      Reply

  33. Lauren

    This looks amazing – I love the combination of flavours you have used and also the name of the bottle cracked me up 😉
    I also love tofu as it soaks up so much flavour!

    Reply

  34. Joanne

    I am not a big drinker either, so those mini bottles are a godsend when I need something for cooking! Love the sound of this tofu…fruity and so full of FLAVOR.

    Reply

  35. kitchenriffs

    Not all of the alcohol burns off when you cook something, but relax: there’s not a whole lot left. Besides, people use vanilla extract and the like without a thought, and they’re mainly alcohol. Of course you don’t use that much of it! Anyway, fun tofu — thanks.

    Reply

    • Shashi

      GAH – thanks so much for letting me know KR – that’s what Maureen said too! You are right – I only used a mini bottle – perfect for an experimental alcoholic drink! Thank you 🙂

      Reply

  36. Charlotte

    OMFG! SO, when i went to your site last week, the last entry that showed up was from June, so I thought you were taking a break or focusing on twitter- What the heck was wrong with my computer?!? maybe it was a cached version? does that even make sense? (im not even sure what cached version means) but OK NOW everything is right with the world. (that happened with a couple other sites too, now i need to go back and recheck everybody) i need this recipe in my life bc i tried BUYING soething similar when i saw it in the grocery store the other day- and it was amazing- but your version sounds so much better!!!

    Ok, i need go figure out what the heck is wrong with my internets now. (maybe the user is just off her rocker, very possible)

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Ah-ha – now your twitter comment earlier makes sense 🙂
      Before I upgraded I was having issues {while my website/blog issues seem to have been solved somewhat, my behavioral issues are ongoing 😉 } -maybe you caught me in the middle of upgrading? Glad its ok now though…I sure did miss you lady and am glad you are back!
      And thank you so very much!

      Reply

  41. Deena Kakaya

    what absolutely gorgeous pictures Shashi and that of my favorite blank canvas of the food world; tofu. I enjoy mango with tofu and recently used the combination in taco’s of an Asian style. I am teetotal, what do you reckon I could use instead of the booze? x

    Reply

    • Shashi

      Thanks so much Deena – Kelly commented saying she was thinking of using orange juice instead and I think that would be just fine – only a little is needed – maybe 1/3 cup.

      Reply

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