This was one of my favorite dishes at the Vegetable Garden Restaurant in Rockville, Maryland.  This is my version of the wonderful dish. I baked the tofu instead of deep frying, which I can’t stand to do, my conscience wouldn’t let me. Therefore I used tahini paste as the base for a batter. It gave a nice deep fried finish at the end. It is sweetened with agave instead of sugar and I used molasses for brown coloring.

Batter

¼ cup tahini

2 Tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1Tbsp water

1 Tbsp coconut oil

16 oz block of extra firm tofu

Battered tofu


Battered tofu after it was baked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Squeeze out excess water in tofu by placing in between 2 paper towels, cut in cubes and set aside. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well into a smooth paste. Add tofu cubes, toss well to coat.  Place battered tofu cubes on well greased baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown, turn after 20 minutes.

Sauce

1 cup water

2 Tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos

3 scallions, chopped

1 garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, grated

1 Tbsp  unsulphured molasses

1 Tbsp tapioca starch

2 Tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup agave nectar

2 tsp coconut oil, to sauté with

pinch of cayenne (opt)

Sauce ingredients


Sauce cooking

Sauté chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic. Combine water, tapioca starch, lemon juice, agave nectar, molasses, and Bragg’s liquid aminos in a bowl. Whisk well. Add the liquid mixture into saucepan stirring until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

Broccoli

2 cups broccoli florets

Steam broccoli, making sure it is still bright green and tender and set aside.

To Finish

Add broccoli and baked tofu to sauce. Combine well, enjoy!