How To Keep Warm in This Never-Ending Winter: Hot & Spicy Tofu Curry

I live in the northeast and I can't wait for this winter to be over. Luckily, the official start of spring is now less than a month away. To keep you warm for the remainder of the winter, I've made a delicious curry recipe and would love to share. Did you know that the spices in curry dishes have amazing health properties? Indeed, studies have shown that a compound found in curry has anti-cancer benefits, and Turmeric (another spice involved in curry dishes) may lower blood sugar and increase insulin sensitivity overtime. Besides the health properties, curry is so delicious and versatile. Adding heat to a meal also raises your metabolism, albeit only temporarily by 8%.

Spicy Coconut Curry Tofu with Sriracha-Hummus Quinoa on the Side

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. can of coconut milk (not coconut water, but the actual high-fat coconut milk)
• 1 cup diced onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small amount of oil for the pan
• cilantro
• bay leaf
• 1.5 tablespoons curry powder
• red thai curry paste
• juice of one lime
• 1-3+ tsp. chili powder (depends on how spicy you like it)
• ½ tsp. ginger
• 12 oz. firm tofu
• ⅔ cup chickpeas (canned saves time)
• ½ cup frozen or fresh peas
• ½ cup dry quinoa +2 cups water
• hummus
• sriracha or hot sauce

Directions:

• Dice the onions and garlic, oil the pan, and sauté until just about lightly browned.
• Add the tofu (drain and press the tofu to get rid of excess water prior to cooking) and cook on medium heat until the tofu is lightly browned.
• Add the coconut milk and red thai curry paste, curry powder, bay leaf, chili powder, cilantro ginger, and lime juice.
• Add the peas
• Simmer on low-medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the drained, already cooked chickpeas towards the end of cooking.
• Quinoa takes about 10 minutes to cook. Add quinoa to a pan and then add water after a minute of heating the dry quinoa. Stir and if the quinoa is undercooked but soaking up water, lower the heat and add more liquid incrementally.
• Remove the bay leaves (or leaf), serve the curry in a bowl with quinoa on the side. To the quinoa, add hummus (garlic or plain flavored works best) on top and finish with sriracha or hot sauce.
• Enjoy!

-Jess