Sometimes...you just have to...

...you just have to given in and make it yourself rightaway.

A few days ago I was craving Nam Nam noodle's seven spice tofu rice platter and I realized that I find myself wanting to eat this fairly often- so decided to take charge and create my own version of this really flavorful dish.

For the tofu

Remove the tofu from the packaging. Place the tofu in some paper towels and keep heavy weight on the tofu in order to drain all the liquid , about an hour(keep removing excess liquid every 20 - 30 minutes or so)

Cut the tofu into slabs and marinate with the concoction below (WARNING: the marinade is spicy)

~ 2-3 tbsp tamari
~ 2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
~ 1 tbsp minced ginger
~ 1 tbsp sesame oil

Rub the marinade on both sides of the tofu slabs and refrigerate for at least an hour (can do overnight too)

Bake the tofu in an oven preheated to 350 F for an hour turning every 20 minutes or so

While the tofu is baking, cook jasmine rice as per packaging instructions (I made basmati rice)

For the veggies

Adapted from No face plate

Veggies

1 orange or red bell pepper, juliened
1 can baby corn, drained
1/2 onion, sliced
1 luffa, juliened (mine was from a friend's garden)
1 minced garlic

Spice mix

1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground star anise
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons soy sauce

In a saute pan, add a bit of oil and saute the ground spice mixture sans (minus) soy sauce until the aroma builds.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for a minute or two

Add the rest of the veggies and saute them on medium high heat (you want the veggies to cook quickly- like they will in a wok, or if you have one, better yet- use the wok)

Once the veggies are tender, drizzle with soy sauce and cook for a few more minutes

Serve hot- plate the rice with tofu and veggies on the side

Judgement: Now that is one damn good staple- you can make ahead the tofu, the rice and the veggies. It tasted awesome, if I may say so myself.

Submitting this recipe to MLLA #62 started by the most gorgeous Susan and taken over by another gorgeous blogger Lisa. This month the event is hosted by yet another gorgeous blogger Siri. This event has been running of 6 years now- that is right 6...

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