Thai for Two ~ Peanut, Potato & Tofu Patties in Lettuce Cups with Broccoli, Red Pepper & Sesame Salad

Kitchen Play List: American Dog ~ Give the Dog a Bone
                                     Colbie Caillat ~ Running Around
                                     Melissa Etheridge ~ Your Little Secret
                                     Thunder ~ What a Beautiful Day
                                     Katy Perry ~ I'm Still Breathing
                                     Thunder ~ Survivor
                                     Slade ~ Coz I Luv You
                                     Sarah McLachlan ~ Possession
                                     The Pretty Reckless ~ You Make Me Wanna Die
                                     Metallica ~ Sat But True
                                     Bowes & Morley ~ That's Not Love
                                     Roy Orbison ft K.D.Lang ~ Crying
                                     Within Temptation ~ What Have You Done Now? 
                                     (long play list as it was a long day cooking..lol ~R~)

My Love had a long working week last week so I decided to cook something special as a treat for our Friday night evening meal. Thai cuisine is one of our favourite types of food and My Love has a particular passion for chillies. (Completely lost on me...but I do enjoy the food regardless..lol) So I turned to Linda Majzlik once again and her fabulous cook book A Vegan Taste of Thailand

Thai Peanut, Potato & Tofu Patties in Lettuce Cups with Sweet Chilli & Garlic Dipping Sauce. Broccoli, Red Pepper & Sesame Salad. Photo not as I'd hoped..sorry guys. ~R~

Yes it does take some time for Thai cuisine to be put together but I set aside the whole day to play in the kitchen. And to be honest you could dramatically reduce the time if you put the tofu in to marinate the night before. I had a 4 hour wait during the day. There are four recipes to make this tray of food but four very simple ones. Marinated Tofu, the patties, the dipping sauce and the salad. I'm going to post them as I made them to help...

We both enjoyed the meal so much that we agreed it was worth all the effort. The dipping sauce was hot and spicy...the patties in lettuce cups were addictive and the salad was just delightful. We devoured every bite...lol. NB The recipe for the patties states that you should get 16 from the mix but I got 34! So I have a stash of them in my freezer for next time. Also the marinated tofu recipe makes enough for the pattie recipe and enough to be thrown in a stir fry the next day! Bargain..lol 

Let's get started, eh? lol

Marinated Tofu
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of Thailand/Majzlik)

1 pkt of Cauldron Tofu, rinsed, drained and pressed for 2 hours then cut into small dice
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 dsp light soy sauce
1 dsp sesame oil
1 dsp fresh lime juice

Mix the ginger with the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice. Add the diced tofu and combine well. Place in a tightly sealed container and refridgerate for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve as a snack, or add to a stir fry...or use in the Peanut, Potato & Tofu Pattie recipe! 

Sweet Chilli & Garlic Dipping Sauce

Sweet Chilli & Garlic Dipping Sauce
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of Thailand/Majzlik)

Do not confuse this with the thick, gloopy mass produced Sweet Chilli Sauce. This is a very hot and liquid dipping sauce. We used it as a drizzle over the patties and lettuce cups. ~R~

2 oz/50g red chillies, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
4 fl oz/125ml water

Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a small saucepan. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then pour into a bowl and allow to cool before serving. 

Thai Broccoli, Red Pepper & Sesame Salad

Broccoli, Red Pepper & Sesame Salad
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of Thailand/Majzlik)

12oz/350g broccoli, chopped into small florets
8oz/225g red pepper, chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1/4 oz/7g roasted sesame seeds
2 dried bird's-eyed chillies, crushed or 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 slices of cucumber, halved.

Steam the broccoli for about 3 minutes until softened, then rinse under running cold water to refresh. Drain well and put in a large bowl with the spring onions. Cut four rings from the pepper for garnish, chop the remaining pepper and add to the bowl. Mix the sesame oil, chillies, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic then spoon over the salad. Add the sesame seeds and stir well. Transfer to a serving bowl, arrange the cucumber slices around the edge and garnish with the pepper rings. 

Thai Peanut, Potato & Tofu Patties in Lettuce Cups and Sweet Chilli and Garlic Dipping Sauce

Peanut, Potato and Tofu Patties Makes 16 34 patties
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of Thailand/Majzlik)

1lb/450g potatoes, peeled
4oz/100g marinated tofu, mashed
3oz/75g roasted peanuts, ground
2 shallots, peeled and grated
groundnut oil

Steam or boil the potatoes, mash and add the tofu, shallots and half of the ground peanuts. Mix thoroughly, then take heaped dessertspoonfuls and roll into balls. Roll these in the remaining ground peanuts, flatten each ball slightly and put on an oiled baking tray. 

Pre-grilled patties...pale and interesting..lol

Brush the tops with oil and place under a hot grill until golden brown. Carefully turn the patties over and again brush with oil. Put back under the grill to brown, then serve warm with a dressing or a dipping sauce. 

Toasted and golden patties hot from the grill!

I served mine in the separated leaves of Baby Gem lettuce...romaine would also work. ~R~ 

Serve...and devour! 
~R~