Congo Tofu

My husband originally got this recipe from a co-worker as Congo Chicken but I adapted it to tofu and its still great! Very easy & good for quick dinners. It takes less than an hour and stores well in the fridge (good for lunch the next day!)
First you'll want to drain the tofu and press it for a good 15 minutes. I usually cut each cake into three even slices lengthwise to press.
While the tofu is draining, chop up the onions, garlic & ginger (and cilantro, scallions, mushrooms if you are adding them).
When the tofu is done being pressed, cut it into small cubes. Sautee the tofu cubes in the peanut oil until it has browned a little on each side. (Do this howe'ver you like your tofu cooked, as crisp or as soft as you want it.) Then add the minced onions, garlic & ginger and if you're adding mushrooms, put them in now too.
Once the onions and/or mushrooms have softened, add the spaghetti sauce and tomato paste, and mix well. Add the cooked chickpeas if you are adding them. Let this simmer for a few minutes. When its good and hot, stir in the peanut butter until its melted throughout. Serve over rice with optional chopped scallions &/or cilantro as a garnish.
This dish is really flavorful. Weve experimented with it a lot which is where the mushrooms and chickpeas come in. You can add lots of things--it doesn't even need the tofu, you can put whatever in it. I bet sietan would work well, too. The main things it needs are the onions, garlic, ginger, tomato sauce & peanut butter, the rest is whatever you want to experiment with. Weve also found that all that peanut butter is a little fattening, so if you want to cut the calories, try mixing one-two cups of cooked chickpeas with three tablespoons of peanut butter in a blender and adding that instead of the 1 cup of peanut butter. It still gives you the flavor and texture without all the fat. We tried doing the same thing once with silken tofu and three tbsp. of peanut butter, but it wasn't as good as with the pureed chickpeas. Hope you enjoy!