Thanks to FoodBuzz, I’ve been getting to be a little creative with my Asian food! FB and Asian Food Grocer sponsored these ingredients for me to create this vegetarian tofu curry dish that’s perfect for a cold fall night. Hope you enjoy my comfort-food dinner recipe that takes, literally 10 minutes to make!
Michelle’s Honey Apple Curry Tofu over Soba
(Vegetarian)
Ingredients:
Garlic, minced (as much as you like for flavor)
1lb carrots (or any other vegetable you like in curry, try okra!), chopped
1 cup water
½ block Japanese Curry (I used hot apple-flavored curry) – Pictured above as “Vermont Curry”
1 block firm tofu, cubed
Handful Japanese soba noodles, boiled and drained – Pictured above
Furikake/Japanese flaked seaweed & sesame seed topping – Pictured on far right
Instructions:
1. Sautee vegetables with garlic. Pour in water. Toss in curry block and dissolve into water.
2. Simmer sauce until thickened. Toss in tofu. Simmer for several minutes. Add more water if you like until it reaches your desired consistency.
3. Serve over soba noodles
4. Top with furikake if you wish.
My Review: While I loved the flavor of the curry with the tofu and veggies, I would definitely trim down on the amount of carrots used. It’s a great comfort dish for the fall and it makes me happy snuggling up with a bowl of noodles when it’s chilly outside. 🙂 Doesn’t get easier than this. I also enjoy dousing my noodles with furikake. It’s REALLY good stuff! Get yours here.
Vermont Curry Review: The curry itself does not taste sweet (or very much like honey or apples), but it is definitely not as spicy as the label indicates (medium hot). This is a creamy, rich curry that is by no means as pungent or coconutty as Indian and Thai curries. Unfortunately, the curry mix has a ton of sodium in it, so I would recommend diluting it with more water when cooking. I’m also not sure I’m a huge fan of “palm oil” being the first ingredient on the list, but maybe the 2nd ingredient redeems it just a little bit?
Please excuse my unglamorous foot in the picture. I’ve been meaning to get a pedicure but might end up buying OPI You Don’t Know Jacque – anyone seen that color?? It’s gorgeous! 🙂
Vermont Curry ingredients: Palm oil, wheat flour, sugar, salt, cornstrach, curry powder (tumeric, coriander, cumin, fennel, spices), onion powder, milk powder, tomato powder, autolyzed yeast extract, fruit paste (banana, sugar, honey, tomato), honey, cheese (cheddar, gouda), peanut butter (peanut), soy sauce powder (soy beans, wheat, salt), chutney, cocoa, apple paste, garlic powder, red pepper, monosodium glutamate, disodium insonate, sodium citrate, coloring (caramel, paprika), soy lecthin, monoglycerides, succinic acid, citric acid, natural and artifical flavor, spices extract (laurel).
Vermont Curry Nutritional Stats: (Per ½ box) 330 Calories, 24g fat, 2460mg sodium, 24g carbs, 9g sugar, 3g protein
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I also ordered another Asian snack from the grocer – one that I eat all the time in Taiwan.
They are called Konjac slices.
Made from konjac potatoes, these are super chewy, ultra high in fiber, virtually fat-free, low carb, and super low in calories.
The flavor I got was Chinese Five Spice, and an entire packet of this is less than 100 calories (I should mention they take forever to eat because they’re so chewy.) Check out the product page here.
INGREDIENTS: Konjac Fiber, Barley Malt Syrup, Soy Sauce (water soybeans, wheat, sea salt), and Spices.
I know it takes a while to get used to new funky foods, but hey, we’re food bloggers – discovering new food products is right up our alley! What’s your funkiest food discovery???? (Is it still considered funky now?)
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***As a side-note, I wanted to warn you all of possibly moldy Larabars – LOOK BEFORE YOU BITE!!!***
As I was about to bite into this Lime Larabar, I saw some grey…and peeled off the entire wrapper to find THIS!! Expiration date: January 2010. UM so why is there mold??? Watch out ladies!! I don’t want anyone to get sick!!!
Lucky Taste Buds! 
Eek about the Larabar.
The recipe sounds so easy and yummy 🙂
I have never seen the konjac slices, but I love konnyaku so I know I’d love them. I’ll keep an eye out for them!
it seems that the cold weather made everyone want to have curry!!! hahaha….. I personally prefer curry than japanese curry cubes… I can regulate the flavor better.
I got these soba noodles too, can’t wait to try! 🙂
what did you do with the bar? throw it away? I would… such a waste! or you should send an email to larabar so they can replace it for you.
oh… sweetie, I just got your mail, thank you so much for the coupon and your sweet words. 🙂
Hmmm, the tofu sounds so interesting. I would be willing to give this a try, espeically if it was used in your delicious recipe!
Oh gross! That mold bar is making me gag! What’s up with that? Doesn’t help that these things are nearly 2$ a piece!
Hope you are well darling!
Looks like you created a perfect dish for fall. It’s getting cold here (finally!), and I’m thinking of dishes to keep me warm. 🙂
Eeew..mold! You should write Larabar and let them know about that.
Oh eww!! THat’s weird, you should call the company and get a free one (I would! They are expensive).
Love your curry creation, and yes, that’s a LOT of carrots!
I’ll have to come back to you about my funkiest food discovery…I’m drawing at blank at the moment, too early! haha,no it’s not.
Thanks for the review..The foot looked fine!
I’m also checking on the Larabar to see if that was shipped from us as part of the package, if so, I’m sure we will take care of it for you.
my love michelle!
isn’t it awesome that we have the same stuff in our pantry? totally have that vermont curry, soba and furikake in my kitchen!
moldy larabars? i just had one that was a year old and it tasted awesome
While we’d love the opportunity to take care of customer..the Larabar was not ours.
Stacy
I’m not sure what my funkiest food discovery is.
I’ve had a moldy Larabar before too! I think b/c they don’t use any preservatives and chemicals, they’re more prone to spoilage.
GOOOOO on the larabar! i don’t think i have ever properly taken a look at mind before devouring it. i will have to keep that in mind!
otherwise, i am LOVING these recipes. i love seeing all the interesting ingredients and products you find. happy thursday dear!
That Larabar is awful!
I love Japanese curry. My husband uses Vermont curry often and I like it. It’s definitely not the healthiest, but good for a treat.
I think konjac is what shirataki noodles are based on in the ‘western’ world… I get konjac noodles from an oriental market and same idea (virtually calorie free due to fiber content). Will look out for the snacks!
Yikes about the Lara bar! Definitely send them an email- their customer service is outstanding 😀
i LOVE curry over pasta…i don’t know why i didn’t think to use soba…yet again, you are genius!
Yum! The soba and curry combo is ingenious! The curry roux doesn’t contain hydrogenated oils either, which I believe is pretty common in curry mixes.
The konjac snacks sound pretty interesting! I like trying strange foods, but I don’t remember the last weird thing I tried was.
Whoa, gotta watch out for those Luna bars! I’m glad you saw that mold before you ate it :X
Wow! How did you get sponsored for that? That is way cool! I wonder if there’s any way to make that curry from SCRATCH though…I heard it’s a complicated process! >.<
Oh, and sooooooooooo disappointed that I missed you….BOO HOO HOO!!! But I'm SO happy you loved USC!! YAY!! My parents think Northwestern is more beautiful, but I beg to differ, ahem. I hope that means WHEN they accept you (not IF, because obviously they WILL accept you) you will say YES!! Please? We're gonna have SO much fun together, as we seem to be pretty similar…Hey, we will even have gone to two same schools! 😉
p.s. Did you get to try the school campus food? I hope you didn't as that may have scared you off….
Wow, that dish you created looks awesome! That’s so gross about the larabar. I’m glad you noticed that before you bit into it! Eek.
ahhhh thats a larabar nightmare!! One time I almost bought a bar in the grocery store that was a year and a half old! ugh.. I am no SO anal about checking expiration dates!
you should write to Lara!! THEY’LL GIVE YOU A NEW ONE IM SURE!
yummmmmmmmm CURRY TOFU!!
I am not a huge fan of Asian flavor, but it still looks good!!!
Boo-urns to the moldy larabar. My guess is that the package either wasn’t completely sealed properly, or something got in there when packaging. Since there aren’t an preservatives in the bars, there is that chance that they will spoil if not completely sealed shut.