Zesty & Spicy

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Hot Chocolate mix, gluten free brownies

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The end texture of the mixed almond flour and chickpea flour is INCREDIBLE.

Soft, almost melt in your mouth but still a bit chewy and cakey at the same time.  The idea was to make a worthy chocolate afternoon binge while using a minimum amount of ressources as we all know what’s happening in the world today.  Since this new reality, my cooking has switched a bit and is focussing even more on managing waste and using limited produce to create delicious meals and snacks.  Follow me on Instagram, if you’re not already, to see what I come out with almost every day.

When coming up with this recipe, I remember looking at the thin choice of chocolate snacks in the pantry.  Truth to be told, I try not to have chocolate in the house because I’m too immature for that and ALWAYS end up eating almost all in one sitting.  People that are close to be know that I still prefer a fruit tart over a chocolate cake but it’s hard to say no when it comes to brownies.

Also because eating too much high in gluten ingredients hurt my stomach a little, it’s been fun to experiment with gluten free baking.  This recipe is a great success, hope you get to try it.

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Basic Burmese Tofu (Chickpea tofu)

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Burmese tofu was such a revelation…

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On my quest to become 80% vegetarian (i’m saying 80% because I love food too much and I can conceive cutting so many things from my diet), I’m searching for protein alternatives that aren’t made of soy.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE regular soy tofu but researches shows that it can be bad for you health.  Even worst, it’s also bad for the planet and as new obsessed gardener, I take these things to heart.  If you are curious to learn a little bit more about the whole soy problematic, I found this very well written and informative post from Wellness Mama and I have to admit that I’m hoping that it will maybe change some of your culinary habits.  After all, we only have one planet, let’s take care of it as much as we can *^_^*

Now, what is Burmese tofu?

It is a “tofu” that is made of besam flour (Garbanzo Bean flour) aka chickpea flour.  It has more in common with polenta because of the way it is made but also because of the soft texture of the end product.  Don’t worry, you can still use it as you would do for regular soy based, tofu.  Fried, grilled, in soups or in salads, you wont be missing ideas once you taste it… well, I hope so *^_^*

This is not an original recipe, only my own twist on this Burmese cuisine classic.  One thing I learned from all my failed attempts at making the best batch of burmese tofu is that it’s all about the ginger powder!  Ginger will absolutely “neutralize” the rough chickpea after taste and leave you with a silky smooth tasting tofu.  Also, the longer you cook and stir it, the firmer it will end up.  So take it as a mini work out and don’t cheap out on the stirring time!

You can keep your Burmese tofu in the fridge, in a plastic bag, wrapped in absorbing paper.  Once every 2-3 days, change the absorbing paper to avoid a quit mild formation.  I usually keep my tofu for 2 weeks in the fridge.

Hope you like this recipe *^_^*

Basic Burmese Tofu (Chickpea tofu)
 
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Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of chickpea flour
  • 3 cups of COLD water
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
  • 2 teaspoons of sunflower oil (or any oil that doesn't have a strong taste)
Instructions
  1. - Take a medium sauce pan on the stove, add inside all the dry ingredients. On the side, prepare a square 8x8 (or any other shape mood you want your tofu to have in the end) lined with absorbing paper (scott towel type)
  2. - Open the heat on Medium/High. ½ cup at the time, add the cool water and whisk every time to make sure there isn't any clumps of flour of spices left.
  3. - Never stop stirring/whisking the mixture.
  4. - Once you start feeling it thickening, and there is barely any foam left, the mixture will be silky looking and you might start breaking a sweat. Set 10 to 15 minutes on the time watch and keep stirring vigorously, making sure to often scrape off the sides of the pan to bring everything back to the middle and avoiding too much "drying" and firming up on the sides. If you find that it's boiling too much, reduce the heat of the water to medium.
  5. - When the full 10 to 15 minutes is done, the texture should be much thicker and almost gelatinous. Pour inside a flat bottom dish, lined with absorbent paper towel and leave in the fridge till it harden
  6. - Cut in the desire shapes and make your favourite recipe with it! Place the left over in a plastic bag, each piece of tofu wrapped in absorbing paper.
  7. - Replace the absorbing paper every 2-3 days.