Peach Perfection…….

I don’t know what my obsession with bowls is lately. Whether it is food in a bowl, or food in an edible bowl, my theme seems to be “bowls” over the last few weeks. A few weeks ago, I brought you Peach Crisp Cups (edible), then Cake Filled Cookie Cups (Edible), Wednesday I will be sharing a bowl with you (edible), and today is a bowl type of day, but sadly, the bowl part is not edible. But the unique sweet and sour sauce, and perfectly cooked tofu, makes up for it. (In this recipe, you can absolutely swap the tofu for chicken if you would like. Before you gasp too loudly, I will cover that in more detail later. 😉 )

I’ve been playing around with the idea of making a traditional sweet and sour sauce for over a month, but it just didn’t sit right with me. I had a few peaches get soft last week after letting them sit on the counter for a day, and it occurred to me that a peach sweet and sour sauce could be just the right match for the baked tofu and noodle bowl I had been wanting to put together. It would work as the glaze for the tofu, and the sauce for the bowl. For those of you who think of tofu as mushy white stuff, this could change your opinion. Baking it at this high temperature gives it a much chewier texture then frying it or cooking it low and slow.  But like I said, even if you aren’t a tofu fan you have to swap it out for chicken so you can try this amazing sauce that is just super simple to make.

Generally sweet and sour sauce is a simple syrup made with sugar, corn starch, vinegar, and pineapple juice. I am a huge sweet and sour fan, and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you want more of an everyday sweet and sour, that you can feel good about this should be right up your alley. It is so simple, I used pureed peaches (No blender needed), Sugar 2.0, water, vinegar, and a small amount of corn starch. There isn’t any culinary veggie expertise needed for the vegetable portion of the bowl. I grated the cabbage and the carrots, used sliced mushrooms, and baked them all on the same pan in the oven. I baked the tofu first, then baked the veggies while the noodles were cooking. I thought I was making two servings when, in reality, this recipe could easily feed four.

Not a cabbage fan? Use Bok Choy. Don’t like carrots? How about turnips. Not into mushrooms? What is wrong with you? 😉 This meal can come together in under an hour from sauce to finish. I personally prefer to make the sauce and tofu a day ahead of time so you can have the meal on the table in 30 minutes or less. It doesn’t matter if you use tofu or chicken, if you switch up the veggies, make it all at once, or split it up, this sweet and sour sauce is a must try. Make it now so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy!

How do you like your sweet and sour sauce?

Peach Sweet and Sour Sauce Tofu Noodle Bowl

By Angie Gouchenour

2-4 Servings

Ingredients

Sauce

¼ cup peach puree

¼ cup water

¼ cup Sugar 2.0

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon corn starch

Bowl

½ tofu block extra firm organic non-gmo

6 white mushrooms

1 cup cabbage shredded

1 cup carrots shredded

Soy sauce (Optional)

2 servings whole wheat thin spaghetti boiled according to the package directions

Sesame oil (Optional)

Directions

Sauce

Cube two ripe peaches push through a mesh strainer into a small pan to make ¼ cup peach puree

Use about 1 Tablespoon of the water to make a slurry with the cornstarch in a small bowl

Add water, Sugar 2.0, vinegar, and corn starch slurry to the peach puree and boil 2 minutes

Remove from heat

Bowl

Preheat the oven to 475’f

Cut the tofu into 11-12 strips  from the narrow end

Lay them flat on a towel and cover with another towel

Place something heavy on top for 20 minutes (I used a large pot filled with water)

Put the pressed tofu on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and coat the top with 1 Tablespoon of sweet and sour and bake for 10 minutes

Flip the pieces, use another Tablespoon of sweet and sour to coat the other side and cook for another 10 minutes

Allow to cool if you aren’t using right away

Reduce the heat to 400’f

On a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper spread out the shredded cabbage and carrots and sliced mushrooms in three sections (drizzle a little soy sauce over the top if you want)

Bake for 20 minutes

In a large dish place the cooked spaghetti (If it has stuck together you can rinse it in warm water)

Coat the noodles with the leftover sweet and sour sauce (you can drizzle some sesame oil over the top and stir in for taste before adding the sauce if you’d like)

Pile the bowl with the veggies and tofu and serve