curry tofu with satay sauce

Don't let the word tofu scare you away here!  Chicken would be a perfectly acceptable (and delicious) substitution in this recipe, I just happened to have an unopened package of tofu in my fridge and decided to use that.  This was a simple recipe to prepare and took no time at all to whip up the satay sauce.  This was my first go at testing out this recipe and I made it for dinner but I think it would be a great party appetizer.

curry tofu with satay sauce (serves 4)
Ingredients (tofu):

1 package firm tofu
1/2 tsp curry powder
coarse sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
cooking spray


Ingredients (satay sauce):
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp chunky peanut butter


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  First remove tofu from package and cut into small cubes.  Lay paper towels on a baking sheet, place tofu on paper towels, layer with more paper towels and put something heavy on top to drain the liquid (cutting board and heavy pan or tea kettle).  Press tofu for at least 10 minutes.  If you have enough time, change the paper towels and press for another 10 minutes.  Draining the liquid gets the tofu more firm and dense.

Spray a baking pan with a little cooking spray and lay the tofu out.  Add salt, pepper, and curry powder, shake a little to cover all sides of the tofu.  Bake for ~30 minutes, flipping the tofu occasionally to crisp the sides. 

While the tofu is baking, prepare the satay sauce.  Add all ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and whisk until completely blended.  Heat the sauce in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring until heated throughout.  Drizzle the sauce over the tofu and enjoy! 

The nutty flavor of the sauce is actually more subtle than I thought it was going to be.  The  peanut pieces in the peanut butter added some texture which was great.  You could use creamy peanut butter if that's what you normally buy and eat... but I like my peanut butter like I like my babies... chunky, that is.  The soy sauce and sesame oil combined to make a really nice flavor.  I served the tofu over whole wheat couscous and broiled zucchini.  If you want to substitute the tofu for chicken, I'd recommend grilling or broiling the chicken. As an appetizer, I'd stick all of the tofu cubes with a tooth pick and serve with a large bowl of satay sauce for dipping... who doesn't love a good dip??