Warm Rice & Quinoa Salad with Pan Fried Tofu

Warm Rice & Quinoa Salad with Pan Fried Tofu is so healthy and delicious. Packed full of red pepper, carrot, courgette & onion which is paired with crispy fried tofu, rice and quinoa, this tasty vegan dish is sure to be a hit!

This recipe was inspired by a Savoury Rice Salad in my much loved ‘Entertaining with Cranks’ book. Even though I’m not a vegetarian I have always loved vegetarian food and in some ways find it much more adventurous than cooking with meat.

My Warm Rice & Quinoa Salad with Pan Fried Tofu uses the softer variety of Tofu and not the more rubbery one, therefore after the crispy exterior there is a divinely light soft centre to die for! We are all new to eating tofu and this was our first experience eating it – everyone loved it and the warm salad which was both nutritious and delicious.

I’d be interested to find out what you do with your tofu as it’s a food I have yet to fully explore! I did however make a very lush Blackberry Tofu Brulee recently which again went down a storm!

For some more inspiring vegetarian salad ideas you might like to check out:

• Maple Tofu Skewers with Papaya Salsa
• Teriyaki Tofu Stir-fry
• Warm Dressed Noodle Salad 
• Tea Smoked Tofu Gado-Gado (Indonesian Peanut Sauce Vegetable Salad 
• Egg Noodles with Purple Broccoli and Grilled Tofu.

I am entering my Warm Rice & Quinoa Salad with Pan Fried Tofu into Extra Veg a blog challenge run by Helen and Michelle and hosted by Emily this month.

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Disclaimer: I won the Clearspring Tofu in a Twitter competition and received the other Clearspring products as samples.

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Warm Rice & Quinoa Salad with Pan Fried Tofu

A delicious warm salad or long grain brown rice with quinoa, grated courgette, carrot and red pepper topped with crispy pan fried tofu for a light and delicious vegetarian meal.

Course Main

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword healthy, tofu, vegan

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Camilla Hawkins

Ingredients

• 250 g Quick Cook Rice & Quinoa I used Clearspring or a mixture of long grain brown rice & red quinoa
• 2 Medium Onions finely sliced
• 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil + extra
• 2 tbsp Soya Sauce I used Clearspring Tamari
• 1 Small courgette grated or make matchsticks with a mandolin
• 1 Carrot grated
• 1 Red pepper finely chopped
• 1 300 g Block of Tofu I used Clearspring firm & silken which is actually soft
• Salt flakes & freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Slice the tofu into 8 pieces (or more if wished).
• Put on a plate lined with folded kitchen paper and pat dry the tofu with lots more kitchen paper.
• Once dry, put in a large dish and scatter with salt flakes then gently pour in enough boiling water to cover and leave for a minute. (This will firm up the tofu slightly and extract more moisture).
• Drain the tofu, pat dry again with more kitchen paper and set aside.
• Boil the rice and quinoa according to instructions and then drain.
• Meanwhile fry the onions in 2 tbsp oil until golden.
• Add the rice to the pan along with the freshly ground pepper and soya sauce, leave to one side.
• In a large frying pan or wok add enough oil to coat the bottom and then fry the tofu on both sides until golden (it may break as it’s very fragile).
• Put the fried tofu onto kitchen paper to drain.
• Add the courgette, carrot and red pepper to the rice mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Place into 4 bowls and top with the fried tofu.
• Serve with an extra splash of soya sauce if wished.