Crockpot Vegetable Curry with Tofu

To fo or not to fu.

That is not the question.

The question is why on God's green earth is it two degrees outside and I haven't even eaten pumpkin pie yet?! The seasons have officially pissed me off.

The only good thing that has resulted from this polar vortex is the more frequent use of my beloved crockpot. After discovering that you can pretty much throw anything (brownies included)  into that magic machine and it'll come out divine, I've been hooked. All I ever want to do is curl up with a bowl o' crockpot curry wearing three sweatshirts and two pairs of socks hoping to God that the low will rise above one measly degree tomorrow.

Believe it or not, I've never made curry in the slow cooker before. You could easily just make this in a pan as well, but there's something so satisfying about throwing the ingredients in a bowl and having an inanimate object do all the cooking for you.

Tofu is so misunderstood. It's one of those foods that you love or you hate, like olives, mayonnaise, mustard, mushrooms, goat cheese, and cilantro. I happen to love it, but only if it's cooked correctly. Ya see, tofu absolutely positively MUST be pressed before you cook it unless you want to eat a wet mushy blog of white weirdness for dinner. The more water you press out, the more flavor the tofu will be able to absorb. Pressing tofu also gives it that nice firm texture. I recommend buying extra firm tofu for the best texture.

This post begs the question...is soy a superfood? Is soy the devil?

I eat soy about twice a week in the form of organic tempeh, organic tofu, or organic edamame. Miso and organic soymilk are also good whole food sources of soy.  Processed, genetically modified soy has infiltrated so many products in our food system because it's cheap and easy, so you'll find soy flour, soy protein isolate, and soybean oil (vegetable oil) in nearly everything these days. It's those processed soy products that you want to avoid, not whole organic sources of soy.

Here's why. Soy contains isoflavones, a superfood plant chemical similar to the female hormone estrogen. These isoflavones help protect against hormonal related disorders by inhibiting cancer-causing enzymes, including breast cancer and prostate cancer. Did you know that societies in which soy is part of the daily diet have relatively few women suffer from such menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and night sweats? Similarly, rates of various hormone-related cancers are remarkably low. If you think about the Asian diet, it's relatively high in soy and very low in dairy, yet they have far lower rates of osteoporosis and breast cancer. Research suggests that soy also has strong anti-oxidant and immune--enhancing properties.

Back to the tofu press! I started using my EZ Tofu Press a couple years ago when I was tired of wasting thirty million paper towels every time I cooked tofu. This product is life changing. You just take your tofu out of the box, wedge it between the press, tighten the knobs, and let it drain, releasing all the liquid that gives poor, misunderstood tofu its mushy stereotype. While pressing can be achieved in 15 minutes or less, I usually press mine for thirty minutes to an hour, tightening the knobs every so often. (The company recommends to turn the knobs every 2 minutes over a 10-15 minute time frame.)

In addition to pressing any kind of tofu substantially faster than spring-based tofu presses, it's also small, compact, easy to clean, dishwasher-safe, and will save you gobs of cash on wasted paper towels.

It's no wonder why this bad boy has been the best-selling tofu press on Amazon for three years! Priced at only costs $19.99, it's quite the steal.

So now I wrote a whole post about tofu and not a single word about this drool-worthy recipe! Let's just say that if you like curry, you'll love this recipe. If you don't like curry, you'll still love this recipe.

GIVEAWAY: The creator of the EZ Tofu Press was kind enough to offer a FREE tofu press to one lucky Hummusapien reader! You can enter the giveaway by using the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end Sunday, November 30th at midnight. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crockpot Vegetable Curry with Tofu

★★★★★ 4.5 from 22 reviews

• Author: Alexis Joseph, MS, RD, LD
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 30 mins
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Main Meal

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Description

A super easy and flavorful vegetarian curry made easy in the slow cooker!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 16oz extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1-14.5oz can lite coconut milk (or full fat)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• ¼ cup Thai green curry paste (or red)
• 1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 ½ cups sliced bell pepper (I used frozen)
• ¾ cup peas
• 1 small eggplant, chopped
• Brown rice or quinoa, for serving (optional)

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Instructions

1. Remove tofu from package and drain water. Place in tofu press and tighten knobs until the tofu is snug. Place tofu press on a plate or baking sheet to catch liquid. Press for 30 minutes to an hour, tightening knobs as needed. (If you don't have a tofu press, place tofu between paper towels or a kitchen towel. Place on plate and cover with heavy objects, like a couple books. Allow tofu to press for 30 minutes to an hour.)
2. While tofu presses, add coconut milk, vegetable broth, green curry paste, ginger, turmeric, salt, and coconut sugar to the slow cooker. Whisk until well combined.
3. Add onion, bell pepper, peas, and eggplant, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
4. While the mixture is cooking, heat a large pan sprayed with olive oil spray over medium heat. Dice up the pressed tofu into bite-sized pieces. Cook tofu for a few minutes per side, or until golden. Set aside for later.
5. When the curry has 30 minutes left to cook, add the cooked tofu. Allow curry and tofu to cook for the remaining 30 minutes and serve over brown rice or quinoa if desired.

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 This post is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting Hummusapien!