Thai Spicy Tofu Tacos w/ Hazelnut Chipotle Compote + Edamame Turmeric Lime Hummus

Difficulty: 2/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 3/3 (3 being spiciest)

Prep & Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 tacos

The Challenge: Thai Spicy Tacos

Do you like Thai food? Yeah, I know its pretty awesome. Really good Thai food to me is very fresh, spicy, limey, and delicious. I don't eat a lot of pasta or noodles, so I wanted to find a solid gluten free / grain free way to have that amazing Thai flavor in a VEGAN way. The taco may be the PERFECT vessel for this. 

What makes a great Thai dish?! There are a number of spices, herbs, and ingredients we want to include for authentic Thai dishes. Here is a short list of the ones you'll want to consider including. I know it can be difficult to find all these or include them in budgeting, but if you can pick a few, they'll make things come to life. I'll also suggest some replacements next to each one. Here it is:

1. Thai Paste: The key to any Thai dish is to make a really nice paste. You can buy these pre-made, but they'll be full of sodium and potentially fish products. 

Shallots, garlic, and thai chiles (red or green) are the building blocks for a paste. You'll want to mix these together with herbs and spices to make what is like a nice dry crumbly paste.

2. Coriander Seeds (coriander): Dry roasting seeds and grind with mortar + pestle. Add to paste.

3. Green or Pink Peppercorns: Dry roasting seeds and grind with mortar + pestle. Add to paste.

4. Lemongrass: Chop up or use ground lemongrass and add to paste.

5. Turmeric: Grounded or fresh and chopped. 

6. Ginger: Grounded or fresh and chopped.

7. Thai Basil: Fresh chopped.

We took these amazing ingredients and added them to a great base - tofu, which retains a lot of different flavors. Additionally, we paired it with two amazing additions - edamame hummus + hazelnut chipotle compote. 

For the compote, we mixed hazelnut with chipotles and several other ingredients for another amazing element to these tacos. I call it a compote because hazelnuts even if soaked tend to stay rough and so the sauce has texture to it rather than a smoothness BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN ITS NOT AMAZING!!!!

Ingredients:

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Thai Spicy Tofu

• 14 oz extra firm tofu
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, minced
• 4 small Thai red chiles, minced
• 1 tbl olive oil
• 1/2 inch fresh turmeric, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp basil,
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Salt + Pepper, to taste
• 1/4 tsp coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

 

Hazelnut Chipotle Compote

• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce + 1 tbl of adobo sauce
• 1 tbl avocado oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 lime, juiced

Other

• 1/2 cup edamame hummus (link to recipe)
• 12 corn tortillas

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Equipment You'll Need:

Medium Mixing Bowl . Cutting Board . Medium Slicing Knife . Food Processor . Small Frying Pan . Medium Frying Pan or Wok . Mortar + Pestle . Serving Dishes

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Before You Cook:

• Bring 1 cup of water to boil and pour onto hazelnuts. Soak hazelnuts for 20-25 minutes.
• Mince fresh ingredients

1. Start by opening tof, wrapping in a clean dish towel, and place a heavy pan on top of it like a castiron pan. If you do not have a castiron pan, some heavy books or pan with books on top of it. 

2. First step in making these thai tacos, is to place a small frying pan with pink peppercorns or coriander seeds in it over medium-high heat. Toast for roughly 6-8 minutes until some browning and fragrance occurs. 

3. Take the toasted spices and place into mortar and pestle to grind it. If you do not have one, you can use a blender or food processor to break them down. You want to create a fine texture. 

4. The above picture shows the rough texture of the spices. Whether you have this setup or a food processor. If using a processor, blend for a couple seconds a couple times.

5. Add oil to medium frying pan and put over medium heat. After 60 seconds add shallots, chiles, and garlic. Saute for five minutes. Set aside. Keep pan on the burner.Add a bit more oil.

6. Put tofu, sauteed ingredients, and the rest of all spices into a mixing bowl and stir well. Place back into the pan, turn down heat a bit and saute for 6-8 minutes until tofu starts to brown and crisp on he sides.

7. While the tofu is crisping, drain the hazelnuts and add all the cream (plus 1/4 cup of water ... different than the water used to boil). Turn on food processor and blend until compote starts to smooth out. 

8. Now that tofu and compote are complete, time to make our tacos! Warm up 12 corn tortillas and add 1/6 of tofu, 1.5 tbl of hummus, 1 tbl of compote, and some fresh cilantro. now....EAT!