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Asian Plantball and Cauliflower Rice
Joshua M. (original recipe)
I decided to ignore the trivia category of state capitals because I thought
that could be someone else's thing and besides, I go to the effort of learning
your abbreviation and even drawing your state which seems really unnecessary
and beyond the call. However, I knew Missouri is in the middle somewhere and
when consulting a map, I noticed your state capital is Jefferson City. This
got me kind of excited because I realized and later confirmed that Missouri
must be the eastern edge of the Louisiana Purchase.
The Lousiana Purchase. Sources:
Natural Earth
and Portland State University
I don't need to tell you about the troubling aspects of Thomas Jefferson the man.
Let's just say wow, that's some power imbalance. Anyway, he may have been a lot of
things, but Jefferson loved natural history and famously discovered the fossil evidence
of giant ground sloths once living in the American East. Maybe less famous but extremely
awesome, he thought giant ground sloths (and other extinct megafauna) might still be
living in the wilderness of the American West and told Lewis and Clark to keep an eye
out for them.
3D-printed giant ground sloth. Design: me!
Background: (source)
Sadly, there are no more giant ground sloths, but they did once roam Missouri.
This is an interesting recipe. Unfortunately for Joshua, I'm going to take a cue from
the pdf photographer and omit the tortillas and cheese. I think the tortillas are unnecessary
and the cheese sounds a little weird. It's a pretty wild idea, though, so if it sounds good
to you, go for it!
I thought this would be a great excuse to make
vegan kofta balls
and borrow the seasoning from Joshua's Asian meatball recipe. It's a moderate amount of work and
just a little risky, more than I would normally attempt, but for you, Missouri, I will give it
a try.
Ingredients
- 7.5-oz. block of Tofu, extra firm, thoroughly pressed
- 1 1/2 tsp. fresh Ginger, minced or grated
- 1 Scallion, finely chopped
- 2 Tbs. Cashews, finely ground using a spice grinder
- Walnut (or Canola) oil, for pan frying
Sauce
Cauliflower Rice
- 1 Broccoli floret, coarsely chopped
- 2-3 cu. Cauliflower, grated
Preparation
Start by pressing your tofu. While it presses, put your potato in a pot of water and bring
to a boil. Cook until just tender, about 10 minutes more. Then drain and let sit in the colindar to
dry out.
In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Pat the tofu dry and pulse in a food
processor until thorough pulverized. Add to the bowl. Now grate the potato into the bowl. Mix, then
knead until it forms a spongy dough. Form into plantballs (I was able to make a dozen) and bake for
20 minutes at 425 degrees.
Make the sauce by whisking together all ingredients.
Add broccoli to boiling water and allow to boil for 2 minutes. Drain, then break the pieces into
smaller pieces. Warm oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the cauliflower and cook for a couple
minutes. Then add the broccoli and sesame seeds and cook a few minutes more. Add the garlic and
cook 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper.
Finally, heat a small pan with a generous amount of oil over medium-high heat. Add as many plantballs
as you are prepared to eat to the pan, in batches if necessary, and cook for about 1 minute, flip with
tongs, and cook another 1 minute, or until golden brown. Serve alongside cauliflower rice and topped
with sauce.
Discussion
This was pretty awesome, if I may say so. The koftas were nice. My only further comment
is that Joshua's sauce
is pretty intense. It's not that it's bad, but when it came time to eat leftovers, I decided
to try a couple splashes of soy sauce instead. It was a lot easier and differently but equally
tasty. I'm sure you could approach the sauce in many different ways, but the foundation of
plantballs plus cauliflower rice is rightfully winning.
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