Do you see that magnificent bowl of food? Punchy grilled tofu bursting with tangy flavour, grilled baby bok choy, sweet n' salty candied cashews, fresh pops of green onion, and a heap of perfectly cooked, fluffy rice. All that, topped with a simmered sauce made primarily with Pulo's Pineapple Tamarind marinade, the key to today's recipe.
This is my 3rd recipe using the bright, popping flavours of Pulo's line of vegan marinades and sauces inspired by cuisine and islands of the Phillipines. My first recipe last November was this Kare Kare Toasted Peanut Tofu & Vegetables, then these delightful Marinated Tofu Naan Wraps with Avocado Lime Slaw in January. Next up? Something super summer-y and preferably grilled, coming up in August!
Since it's almost summer, we're focusing on the marinades: Lemongrass Atsuete (inspired by Cebu Island), Mango Chili (Guimaras Island), and today's feature: Pineapple Tamarind, inspired by Samal Island. Each one of these bottles is just begging to be by your BBQ's side this summer.
The Pineapple Tamarind marinade is bursting with bright fruity acidity, a sweet-salty tang, and a little bit of heat. Allowing the flavourful marinade to take center stage, I decided to keep everything in this bowl pretty simple and just utilise the marinade in a number of ways. The tofu is marinated and grilled, the bok choy is lightly brushed with the marinade and grilled, the cashews are toasted and candied in it, and the leftover marinade is simmered with a touch of extra soy sauce and water, before drizzling it over the bowl. 1 marinade, 4 different applications, resulting in 1 deliciously flavourful and hearty bowl. Yum!
To my lovely Canadian readers: Pulo would has offered to gift one of you wonderful people with their line of cooking sauces and marinades! To enter, comment below telling me your favourite part of summer eating! Is it all the beautiful produce? Growing your own fruits and veggies? Getting out and grilling some veggie burgers? Or maybe it's just trying to eat an entire watermelon to yourself. I want to know! Please use your preferred contact email when commenting and be sure to enter by June 20th, 2016 at 11:59 PM MST. The winner will be contacted by email by the end of the month. Good luck!! Giveaway complete. Thank you for entering and congratulations Teresa!
PS: Pulo is available in Canada and in California (at Cost Plus World Market), but if you scroll alllll the way to the bottom of the recipe for a little "OH-no!-I-can't-buy-Pulo-here" marinade recipe that will have you eating a tasty, albeit completely different, grilled tofu, baby bok choy, candied cashew rice bowl in no time.
This post is sponsored by Pulo Philippine Cuisine. We love them for their easy to prepare and 100% vegan cooking sauces and marinades. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan! Learn more about why we love Pulo Philippine Cuisine SO much at www.pulocuisine.com.
Print
Pulo Grilled Tofu Bowl with Baby Bok Choy & Cashews
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main, Entrée, Bowls
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A simple bowl of grilled & marinated tofu, grilled bok choy, flavourful candied cashews and green onions. A simple rice bowl is taken to flavourful new heights thanks to Pulo's Pineapple Tamarind marinade.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle Pulo's Pineapple Tamarind marinade
- 1 350g block tofu, cut into triangle bite-sized pieces
- 16 baby bok choy, halved
- ½ cup raw cashews, chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- green onion, sliced
- 4 cups cooked short grain rice
Instructions
- Marinate chopped tofu in ½-3/4 of a bottle of Pulo's Pineapple Tamarind marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- In a medium skillet, toast chopped cashews of medium heat until golden and fragrant. Do not over brown. Add 2 tablespoons of marinade and cook until the cashews are coated but not wet, stirring frequently. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine remaining marinade (from marinating the tofu + leftover in bottle) with soy sauce and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Lightly coat grill with oil (I used a small household panini-style grill.) Use a slotted spoon to drain some of the excess marinade from the tofu (the sugars from too much excess marinade will burn on the grill.) Grill the tofu until crisp and slightly charred. Brush with extra marinade for extra flavour near the end of cooking. Grill the bok choy, cut side down, until tender. Brush bok choy with a light coat of marinade and cook for 1 more minute.
- Serve grilled tofu and baby bok choy over a bed of white rice. Top with simmered sauce, candied cashews, and chopped green onion. Enjoy!
Notes
Pulo is available in Canada and in California (at Cost Plus World Market.) You can make a delicious (albeit completely different tasting) grilled tofu, bok choy, and candied cashew rice bowl using your own marinade. Here's some inspiration: ¼ cup soy sauce,¼ cup maple syrup,¼ cup water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons sriracha, ½-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and 2 cloves garlic (minced). Taste and adjust the marinade to your liking before using it in the recipe.
Holly Thomas
Dearest Brittany,
My husband and I have been slowing making our way through your AMAZING collection of WONDERFUl VEGAN recipes! We are just blown away. We both said that we wanted to send you a personal THANK YOU for making eating VEGAN such a JOY! You have done such an incredible job with this blog. We really appreciate you. Love, Jason and Holly
★★★★★
Julia
I just tried this recipe and it was so delicious. Unfortunately I didn't find a similar marinade, but instead I mixed one myself. Now I will definitely cook more often using bok choy 🙂
Greetings from France
★★★★★
Brittany
Great idea Julia! This recipe would be perfect for any marinade that you love 😀
Sofia
This bowl looks so delicious! I just realized that I know nothing about food/flavours from the Philippines and am really intrigued by the flavour combos in the dressings! Especially love the pineapple tamarind that you used in the bowl. Beautiful, as always 🙂
Brittany
Thank you Sofia! Playing with these sauces and marinades has really opened me up to using more fruity acidic flavours in savoury dishes, it's not something I thought of doing much before!
Cheryl
I am always looking for ways to enhance and vary flavours in my cooking. These marinades sound delicious. During the summer months we really enjoy having our meals outdoors . The fresh air seems to make our food taste even better. I think I know where to buy the Pulo Marinades and am going g to try the pineapple first.
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Cheryl! Make sure to check Wal-Mart if you have trouble finding Pulo marinades.
Markus Mueller
This looks so yummy! I just had to add it to my recipe box on yummly! Not sure I can get Pulos marinade here in PEI, I'll have to keep an eye out for it!
★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Markus! IF you've got a local Wal-Mart, try there!
MDIVADOMESTICA
Thanks for sharing this uniquely wonderful recipe!
Brittany
You're so welcome!
Teresa
This sounds so delicious. I love tamarind, but don't use that flavour enough. My favourite part of summer eating is the parade of fruit and vegetables to feast on across the season. Just as something disappears, there's something just as delicious to take its place.
Brittany
I've never used tamarind by itself but I just happened to see it at the grocery store yesterday so I think it's time to do a little experimenting! Thanks for commenting Teresa!
Teksunai
The recipe looks amazing!
My favourite part of summer eating is eating outside with a soft breeze. I also love having green smoothies around this time of year.
★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Teksunai! Summer breezes are so lovely, I need to make outdoor eating more of a habit!