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Tofu Short Ribs With Gingery Mashed Root Veggies

November 17, 2016 21 Comments

shortribs

All the licky, succulent flavor of a rib but without the…rib! Smother the sauce all over the gingery root veg mash and it’s like a winter parade for your taste buds. These ribs make a dazzling presentation as a centerpiece for your spread, so serve them family style on your coolest serving platter. I love to serve it with steamed asparagus, but broccoli or bok choy would be really nice, too.

This recipe is from the Chinese New Year chapter of The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook, but really, the book was designed to use the recipes year round. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion to have an awesome dinner! And of course you don’t have to stick to the chapter guidelines. Serve ribs on Hannukah if you feel like it. Total. Holiday. Anarchy.


Notes

~To get this recipe together in about an hour, preheat the oven for the tofu first. In the meantime, start putting the sauce together. While the sauce heats, get the tofu in the oven. And while those things are working away, throw together your root mash.

~There are a lot of super-firm tofus on the market these days, namely from Wildwood or Trader Joe’s. It’s tofu with very little moisture, so no pressing is necessary. To get the most out of it, simply give it a little squeeze with a paper towel before cooking. If you can’t find super-firm, go with extra-firm (and press it).

Ingredients

FOR THE TOFU:
2 (14-ounce) packages super-firm tofu, drained, each sliced into 8-pieces widthwise (see note)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

FOR THE RIB SAUCE:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold vegetable broth, purchased or homemade
1 cup hoisin sauce
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1⁄3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1⁄3 cup rice vinegar
1⁄4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 1⁄2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
3⁄4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice

FOR THE ROOT MASH:
8 ounces parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 ounces rutabaga or turnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

MAKE THE TOFU:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the tofu on a large rimmed baking sheet and coat it on both sides with the oil and tamari. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the slices and bake for 15 minutes more.

MAKE THE RIB SAUCE:
While the tofu is in the oven, in a 2-cup measuring cup, use a fork to vigorously whisk the cornstarch into the vegetable broth until it’s mostly dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Transfer the sauce to a small saucepot and heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a low simmer and let the sauce thicken for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Smother the cooked tofu with the rib sauce, return it to the oven, and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove the pan from the oven and tent it with aluminum foil to keep warm until ready to serve.

MAKE THE ROOT MASH:
Put the parsnips and rutabaga in a 4-quart pot and submerge them in water by 2 inches. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Uncover and boil the parsnips and rutabaga for 10 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes. Continue to boil until everything is fork-tender, about 10 minutes more.

Drain the veggies and transfer them to a medium mixing bowl.

Heat a small pan over low heat and add the coconut oil. When it is melted, sauté the ginger and garlic just until golden, about a minute. Add the ginger and garlic to the bowl of boiled root veg, along with the salt.

Mash everything very well, then taste and adjust for salt.

SERVE: Spread out the hot root veg mash on a serving platter. Arrange the ribs over the mash, then spoon on the remaining sauce. Serve immediately, with large serving spoons.

Filed Under: Autumn, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Entrees, Featured, Gluten Free, Holiday, Main Featured, Recipe, Recipes Featured, Recipes Main Featured, Sauces, Sides, Superbowl, Superfun Times, Thanksgiving, Winter Tagged With: ginger, parsnips, root veg, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, tofu

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Comments

  1. julie

    November 18, 2016 at 1:13 am

    mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

    Reply
  2. Andrea

    November 18, 2016 at 3:14 am

    Whoa. Barbecued short ribs is one of the last meat things I remember eating before becoming vegetarian, then vegan. It’s all tied up with memories of the good friend who introduced me to it. She just recently alluded to the meals we shared together back in the 70s, before I was vegan. I’ll have to make this and send her a photo — for old times sake.

    Reply
  3. Rachelann Barkley

    November 18, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Make a video! Love you Isa!

    Reply
  4. Sabrinna

    November 20, 2016 at 12:01 am

    Just finished making and eating this, so delicious!

    Reply
  5. Aiden

    November 23, 2016 at 7:30 am

    This does sound fabulous! And sooo easy! I always worry about extra-firm tofu, though, because my experience has been that it doesn’t get smooth enough (or maybe it’s just my food processor, which is pretty old). I’d love to try this out, though!

    And I will officially stop whining about all the snow we’ve got over here. Yikes!

    Reply
    • Daisy

      December 3, 2016 at 7:49 pm

      You’re not putting the tofu in the food processor. The tofu just gets sliced and baked.

      Reply
    • Kat

      October 31, 2018 at 10:49 pm

      you don’t mash the tofu..you mash the root veggies

      Reply
  6. Jill

    November 26, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    I made this but only with the sweet potatoes but still with the ginger and garlic was really good. Side of string beans. Awesome.

    Reply
  7. i geb nix

    December 10, 2016 at 10:11 am

    Hmmm, the recipe is missing. Also on the other pages.
    What happend?

    Reply
  8. Kk

    December 22, 2016 at 7:50 am

    i am thinking about making this for an omni xmas dinner… how many does it serve?

    Reply
  9. Jill

    January 23, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    This was delicious. I didn’t have hoisin sauce and neither does my supermarket. It is surprisingly hard to find in uptown manhattan. So I made it from a random internet recipe and most of the ingredients in this recipe are also in the hoisin sauce. Therefore, I conclude that this could be adapted by combining the two recipes and eliminating the hoisin sauce, which I will do. It was delicious and I’m making it again tonight.

    Reply
  10. Helene

    January 29, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    The sauce was amazing! My husband who generally prefers meat loved it!

    Reply
  11. nancy

    February 24, 2017 at 3:36 am

    I love the flavors at play here, I will recommend that if you are making this for a big bunch of leftovers that you use tempeh or seitan in place of tofu. It’s really elegant and decadent day of, but after a few days of being-a-leftover the whole shebang has a sense of ‘mush’ and you end up really want some textural contract. Or you could just sprinkle some cashews on top. I work at a nut free school so my options there are limited for lunch leftover solutions.

    Reply
    • Caroline

      April 20, 2018 at 5:30 am

      What about toasted pumpkin (&/or sunflower seeds) seeds instead of nuts for a bit of nut-like crunch if you want to sprinkle something on the top?

      Reply
  12. Lorraine James

    June 25, 2017 at 10:35 pm

    Loved the ribs, absolutely exquisite; liked the mash.

    Reply
  13. Linda Martin

    August 27, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    Made the ribs today. They were delicious. Will make this again.

    Reply
  14. Eliana Hermione

    July 11, 2018 at 10:30 am

    It was a lot ginger. They used real ginger root and more of it than what passes for ginger ale these days Top essay writers UK based.

    Reply
  15. sonu

    July 19, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    Thanks a lot for this amazing guide here

    Reply
  16. Ariana

    August 29, 2020 at 2:38 am

    Just discovered this recipe and it was amazing! The flavor of the short rib sauce and root mash married so well together and I felt really accomplished. I look forward to making this dish for friends someday when the 2020 pandemic is over. Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Marcus Serrao

    January 20, 2021 at 5:32 am

    Amazing recipe. Thanks for it!

    Reply
  18. Michelle

    February 8, 2021 at 2:46 am

    The whole family (aged 4-44) loved this one! I somehow ended up with a lot of extra sauce…close to a cup. Any suggestions for other ways to use it?

    Reply

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