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–+ servings

Pozole Rojo-Inspired Tofu and Rice

While Pozole typically involves a large amount of...well...pork, I think there's something delicious about the combination of chilies and spices in the Mexican dish. I took those flavors and infused them into a tofu and rice meal. If you can pick up these dried chilies at your international store, I highly recommend it for a flavorful, layered dinner.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings, two tacos per serving

Equipment

Ingredients

For the pozole-rojo style sauce (See Note*)
  • 3 dried New Mexican chilies, stems and seeds removed
  • 1 dried ancho chili, stems and seeds removed
  • 2 dried morita chilies
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons mexican oregano
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton's
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons honey
For the tofu and rice
  • 1 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 2 16-ounce blocks of extra-firm tofu
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 1 large red onion, 10 ounces, sliced
  • 1 pound tomatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
For serving
  • 12 mini corn tortillas
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro, divided, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup Crema mexicana
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges
  • 4-5 globe radishes, thinly sliced
  • 4-5 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions 

  1. Begin by making the sauce. Add the stemmed and de-seeded chilies to a small blender and cover with 2 cups of hot water. Let this sit for 10 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients for the pozole-rojo style sauce. Add an ice cube to the mix to cool it, then blend until smooth.
  2. Start cooking 1 cup of brown rice according to package instructions.
  3. Drain and press any excess water out of the two packs of tofu. Slice each pack into six rectangular pieces.
  4. Season both sides of the tofu pieces with a pinch of salt then add them to a large bowl. Pour in 2/3 cup of the pozole rojo sauce. Gently mix so that all the tofu pieces are coated with the sauce.
  5. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sear the tofu in two batches. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until golden-red in color. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.
  6. Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then add the sliced red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until frizzling at the edges. Add the tomatoes and cook another 3-4 minutes before adding the rest of the pozole sauce and 1 cup of water. Mix to combine and bring this to a simmer.
  7. Simmer the vegetable mixture until is has reduced by a third, about 10-12 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.
  8. By now the rice will be finished. Scoop it into the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup of cilantro. Mix this all together.
  9. Nestle the tofu on top of the rice.
  10. Either serve as bowls or tacos. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro to some crema mexicana and squeeze in 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Mix and season with salt. Use this as a sauce and serve alongside sliced radishes, scallions, lime wedges and warm corn tortillas.

Notes

Note*: If you don't have access to a store with these chilies, I find the following ingredients yield a similar result:
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
3 teaspoons chipotle powder
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons honey
2 cups hot water
 
Blend this together and use it as your pozole-style sauce!
Serving: 8ouncesCalories: 453kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 17gFat: 15g