Ingredients
rice — 3/4 cup dry
olive oil — 1 splash plus 1 more
tofu — 1 pound, diced into half-inch cubes
one onion — chopped
black-eyed peas — 2 16-ounce cans, drained and rinsed (or use frozen or fresh made)
collard greens — 10-12 ounces, rinse (if dirty), de-stem, chop
Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
No-salt seasoning and/or red pepper flakes
Instructions
1. Cook the rice. Rice is generally 2 parts water to 1 part rice, thus get 1 1/2 cups of water boiling, put in the rice, turn it down to a simmer, cover and cook until the water is boiled off, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Either bake or fry the tofu.
To bake, cut the tofu into cubes, put in a container with a few squirts of Bragg's or soy sauce and a few shakes of no-salt seasoning and some red pepper flakes (up to a teaspoon depending on how spicy you like stuff). Then bake in a toaster oven (or regular oven) at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
To fry, heat two splashes of olive oil in a big skillet on medium to high and fry up the tofu cubes. Let the tofu cook for 4 to 5 minutes on a side, then flip the pieces and let them cook again for 4 to 5 minutes on another side so that the cubes get a little crispy. Remove the tofu to a dish or plate.
3. In a skillet, add another splash of oil and then the chopped onion and sauté for 7 or so minutes while you rinse, de-stem and chop the collard greens. De-stem the collard greens by folding them in half lengthwise along the stem with the darker green side down and then pull up the stem until it comes off and you’re left mostly with leaf. Chop it all coarsely.
4. Add the already-cooked tofu, already-cooked rice, peas and collard greens to the now-cooked onion in the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes or until heated through. Squirt some Bragg's or soy sauce on it, a tablespoon or so. Serve.
Comments
1. We like to top this with salsa or hot sauce.
2. To save time, you can just buy some smoked tofu or some other flavor of tofu and just cut it up rather than cooking your own. Two 8-ounce packages will be needed, and this will quadruple the cost of the dish.
3. If you fry-cook your own tofu, feel free to flavor it up by tossing in some teriyaki sauce or soy sauce or barbecue sauce while you’re frying it.
4. If you fried the tofu instead of baking, you might sprinkle on some red pepper flakes when you add the rice/peas/greens for extra zing.
5. If you cook your own black-eyed peas (which costs a quarter as much as the canned), then put a cup of dried peas and two cups of water in a pan. Heat until boiling then turn down and simmer for 40 minutes. Rinse in a colander. Make this Step 1. Or crockpot them in the morning so they're ready at night.