Tahini Miso Tofu Bowl
This bowl is a manifestation of my intention to eat more fermented foods. There are actually 2 fermented foods in this dish - kimchi and miso. If you’re wondering why fermented foods are SO amazing for our health, keep scrolling!
To be completely honest, I’m not a huge kimchi lover and definitely don’t like eating it in large pieces. I do, however, recommend Mother In Law’s vegan kimchi (not all kimchi is vegan - make sure you check the label), and enjoy its spicy contributions after chopping it finely and adding it to other recipes - like this one!
The star of the show is really the Tahini Miso sauce which I created specifically for this bowl.
Cooking dinner usually takes me awhile because I like to overcomplicate things, so I couldn’t believe that this entire meal only took me the time it took to cook the rice (on the ‘quick rice’ setting) to prepare! This is definitely a new go-to weeknight dinner for us as it checks all of my boxes:
well balanced macronutrients (carbs, protein, healthy fats)
good dose of nutrient dense greens (I used my all time favorite: Chinese broccoli, or Gai lan)
fermented foods for beneficial gut bacteria (this is a bonus box, but one I’d like to check more often)
FLAVOR (Don’t you love when simple food also tastes amazing?? Seriously, this sauce is incredible and compliments the other flavors so well)
simple, quick (approx. 20 minutes?), and easy…need I say more?
BENEFITS OF FERMENTED FOODS
probiotic rich = great for a healthy gut microbiome
a healthy gut microbiome leads to better overall health including nutrient absorption, improved immune system and hormone health, as well as better skin and sleep. Gut health is also closely linked with mental and emotional health.
we are constantly swallowing pathogens, so it’s a really good idea to give our gut a good-bacteria-boost to help fight off the bad and prevent illness
fermented foods are known to reduce risk and development of cancer (and other illnesses) by:
reducing absorption of toxins in the intestines
preventing tumor growth
benefitting the gut microbiome and, therefore, overall health. Cancer is less likely to thrive in a healthy and robust environment.
Let’s incorporate more fermented foods in our diets!
Happy eating, happy healing!
M
Tahini Miso Tofu Bowl
Ingredients
Instructions
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. If you don’t have a rice cooker, add the rice to a pot with 1.5 cups of water on medium/high heat. When it comes to a rapid boil, turn it down to low, cover it with a lid and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit, covered, until you are ready to serve. then fluff with a fork.
- Drain the tofu, then wrap it in a kitchen towel and gently (gently!) press on all sides to remove some of the liquid. Slice the tofu into 8 slabs, lay them flat on your cutting board and gently press with the kitchen towel, then flip them and repeat on the other side to remove as much liquid as possible without breaking the tofu.
- Place a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Once hot, lightly spray with cooking oil and lay down the slabs of tofu. Don’t touch them for a few minutes. After 3-4 minutes, check the underside. Once they are golden, flip them over, repeat.
- When the second side turns golden, turn down the heat to medium/low. Crack some black pepper across all the tofu. Then drizzle with 1-2 TBS of soy sauce. Immediately flip the tofu over once more, so that both sides are exposed to the soy sauce caramelizing in the pan. Once both sides have some color, remove from the heat and transfer tofu to a plate. This will happen pretty quickly, as the soy sauce burns easily. Don’t clean the pan.
- Wash and chop the greens, then add them to the pan that the tofu was cooked in and put it back on medium heat. Add about 1 TBS of water to the pan and stir so the greens pick up the left over soy sauce that caramelized on the pan. Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the greens have softened to your liking, add another drizzle of soy sauce and stir to distribute through the greens.
- Finely chop the kimchi and green onions, and prepare the Tahini Miso Sauce.
- Assemble your bowl and enjoy!
If you like this recipe, you might also like my Stir-Fry Sushi Bowl!
