Thai-Style Tofu With Ginger Veg And Brown Rice

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15-20 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Boil half a kettle

Drain your tofu, then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Slice the drained tofu into 2 pieces per person, then score in a criss-cross pattern, taking care not to cut all the way

Add the sliced tofu to a large bowl with your soy sauce and give everything a good mix up until all the tofu is coated – this is your marinated tofu

Dissolve your creamed coconut in 150ml [225ml] [300ml] boiled water with a generous pinch of salt – this is your coconut stock

Peel and roughly chop your shallot[s]

Peel and roughly chop your garlic

Cut your red chilli[es] in half lengthways, deseed (scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon) and chop finely

Chop your lime[s] in half

Separate your coriander leaves from the stalks, then chop both finely

Add the chopped shallot, garlic, chilli (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and the chopped coriander stalks to a pestle & mortar

Add a pinch of salt and grind to a paste – this is your Thai-style paste

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat, and once very hot, add the marinated tofu and cook for 5-6 min, turning occasionally until golden and crisp

Once golden, add the Thai-style paste to the tofu and cook for 2-3 min further or until fragrant

Once fragrant, reduce the heat to medium, add your coconut stock and cook for 4-5 min or until the sauce has thickened

Add the juice of half the lime[s] and stir it all together – this is your Thai-style sauce

Cut the remaining lime into 1 wedge per person

Deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and cut into thin strips

Slice your sugar snaps peas in half lengthways

Peel (scrape the skin off with a teaspoon) and finely chop (or grate) your ginger

Wash your spring greens then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Rip the leaves off your spring greens, discard the tough stalks, then layer the leaves over each other, roll them up and slice into thin strips

Heat a separate, large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with 1 tbsp [1 1/2 tbsp] [2 tbsp] vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, remove the pan from the heat, add the sliced spring greens and pepper strips with a pinch of salt, then return the pan to the heat and cook for 4-6 min or until starting to soften

Add the chopped ginger and halved sugar snaps and cook for a further 2 min or until everything is cooked with a slight bite – this is your ginger veg