The Food Matters Project: Tofu Braised in Rhubarb Sauce

Hello again! Welcome to this week's Food Matters Project recipe! The recipe chosen by Camilla is Fish Nuggets Braised in Rhubarb Sauce.

I love fish. But I didn't make fish nuggets. I chose to make tofu braised in rhubarb sauce instead. Rhubarb is not for the faint-of-heart-or-loves-everything-sweet type. Rhubarb is strong and sour and bitter. It needs a lot of sugar to turn into the strawberry-rhubarb pie or crisp that most of us grew up eating. I've never made a crisp before and now, after working with rhubarb, I'm curious about using it in a dessert and will probably try a crisp later this spring.

On a side note, Scott and I are jumping on the paleo bandwagon (with some built-in cheat days) so the Food Matters Project might get a little more complicated for us. Whenever possible I'll try to adapt the recipes to meet paleo requirements. I already know that I'll make pizza from scratch though, so SHHH, I'm pretending that doesn't count. Paleo in the summertime is a fantastic thing. I am practically drooling from thinking about all the barbeques and salads and kebabs and fresh vegetables and fruits we'll be enjoying all summer long.

Okay, back to rhubarb sauce. . .


Scott's reaction to this meal: "I don't really care for rhubarb." My reaction? "Well, it's kinda interesting. I think it's okay. I can eat this for lunch tomorrow." Don't be fooled though, I feel like this sauce grows on you. It is not sweet at all but something about the tangyness of it appeals to me. I kept on tasting it and thinking, "okay, this is okay."

adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook.

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pound rhubarb, chopped
1 large shallot, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
salt and peppper
2 limes, juiced
1 package firm tofu, liquid pressed out and tofu sliced into wedges or strips

Heat a large pan on a burner set to medium. Add the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Shake the pan occasionally while sugar dissolves and bubbles, 5 minutes or so. Remove pan from heat and gently add in another 1/4 cup water. Replace pan on burner and turn up to medium-high. Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 1-2 minutes.

Toss in the rhubarb, shallot, jalapeno and season with salt. Turn the heat down until mixture bubbles gently. Cook, while stirring occasionally, until rhubarb softens - about 10 minutes.

Add pepper and lime. Add tofu chunks and cover pan with lid until tofu is hot, about 5 minutes.