Brown Stew Tofu

This vegan version of this brown stew recipe will transport your taste buds straight to the Caribbean! Made with tofu, vibrant vegetables, and a rich, savoury sauce, this dish is packed with flavour that's perfect to accompany any side dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Jamaican

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 347kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

1 teaspoon onion powder or granules
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon tapioca starch
2 teaspoon all purpose seasoning
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon pink salt
2 tablespoon homemade browning (use 1 teaspoon if you are using storebought browning)
1½ cups water (355ml)
16 oz firm block of smoked tofu pressed and drained and chopped

To brown the tofu/cook the stew

4 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized onion chopped
2 scallion sliced
½ tablespoon ginger minced
½ red bell pepper sliced
½ green bell pepper sliced
1 medium carrot chopped
1 tablespoon pimento berries
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon hot sauce
black pepper and pink salt to taste

Instructions

To marinate the tofu

Add the tofu, onion/garlic powder, paprika, tapioca starch, all purpose seasoning, thyme, black pepper, pink salt, homemade browning, water to a zip lock bag.
Zip the bag to secure it, shake and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

To brown the tofu

Add the 2tbsp of olive oil on medium heat to a large frying pan.
Remove the tofu from the marinade (don't throw it away) then proceed to sear the tofu, turning the tofu and shaking the pan every few minutes so each side is browned (this should take several minutes).
After the given time remove the brown tofu from the frying pan and set aside.

Making the brown stew

Replenish the frying pan with 2 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat.
Add the onion, scallion garlic and ginger and saute until soft and translucent.
Add the bell peppers, carrot and continue to cook until soft.
Add the pimento berries, thyme, tomato puree, hot pepper sauce, the reserved marinade and 1 tablespoon of the homemade browning
Bring the pan to a rolling boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tofu (stirring and basting it with the sauce afew times).
Continue to simmer for 20-25 minutes with the lid on, basting the tofu ocassionally.
Do a test test and add black pepper and pink salt to taste.

Notes

I highly recommend using smoked tofu for this recipe as it is more flavoursome than unsmoked tofu.

Use a ziplock bag and not a bowl to marinate the tofu because you can shake the bag to help with marinating the tofu.

When frying the tofu, don't rush this step, you want each side if possible of the tofu to sear with a crispy coating as this will help to lock in that flavour.

Marinate the tofu overnight or for several hours, tofu tends to be bland so by allowing it to marinate for hours will result in a more flavoursome brown stew.

Here is the link to my Homemade Browning Sauce and All Purpose Seasoning.

Refrigerate (don't freeze) any leftovers. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Reheat any leftovers on the stove, you may need to add a splash of water to loosen up the sauce.

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