Tofu and Pea Patties with Baked Rice Cake Coating

 

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A post shared by Haggai Leffler - Vegan Athlete (@haggai_leffler) on Jul 8, 2019 at 11:41pm PDT

Cross your heart, how many of us start eating rice cakes the moment we start a diet?

I'm sure quite a few.

And there's a good reason: puffed rice contains a high amount of air, so the actual mass of food being eaten is low (hence the low calorie intake).

Besides spreading a (thin!) layer of hummus and vegetables for a quick dinner, you can absolutely use them to create a variety of recipes, like these tofu and pea patties with a rice cake coating.

And if you're worried about the high glycemic index of rice cakes, you can rest easy. "Patit" (remember when we used to eat those?) launched a variety of whole-grain cakes like:

Corn cakes with quinoa and basil, corn cakes with chia and oregano, or buckwheat with chia and corn, including whole corn.

Full disclosure: They also participated in the preparation of this recipe.

Honestly (and I'm not writing this just because they paid me): their rice cakes are tasty, nutritious, and can be a great solution for a light snack or a main meal.

Sure, you can just snack on them as is, but it's much more fun to use them to coat soft tofu patties and bake them in the oven.

It’s a perfect solution for anyone looking for a gluten-free dish and a nice way to save on calories.

What's not to love?

The patties come out slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and packed with bold Asian flavors.

Unfortunately, they don't taste great after freezing (the rice cakes absorb moisture), but they can be kept for up to three days in the fridge (a quick warm-up in the toaster oven will bring them back to life).

A bit about the recipe

I used firm tofu – make sure you don't use silken tofu, but rather tofu intended for stir-frying.

For extra flavor and volume, I used frozen green peas. You can replace them with the same amount of green beans, soybeans (edamame), or even grated zucchini.

I chose to go with Asian seasoning which I think complements the patties perfectly. If you want a different style, you can swap it for cumin, garlic, chili, parsley, and olive oil. It will be just as tasty.

Nutritional values by clinical dietitian and fitness coach Noam Bechar:

One patty out of 10 (50g per patty) contains:

70 kcal

6g protein

7g carbohydrates

5g fat

Want another tofu patty recipe? Click here

Print

Tofu Patties with Rice Cake Coating

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 11 minutes

Yield 10 patties

Ingredients

For the patties

• 1 pack Patit thin corn cakes with whole corn 5 thin cakes total
• 300 g Tofu
• 1 cup Frozen green peas Thawed
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 Garlic clove Crushed
• 1 tbsp Grated ginger
• 2 tbsp Chopped cilantro
• ½ tsp Chili flakes

For the coating

• 2 tbsp Canola oil or any neutral-flavored vegetable oil
• 1 pack Patit cakes with quinoa and basil 5 thin cakes total

Instructions

1. In a food processor, blend the tofu until smooth and creamy.

2. If your food processor struggles, add a tiny bit of water.

3. In a deep bowl, use your hands to crumble one pack of cakes into crumbs (they don't have to be uniform, but avoid very large chunks).

   

4. Add the tofu mixture and the rest of the patty ingredients to the bowl: peas, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili, garlic, ginger, and cilantro.

5. Add half of the crumbled cakes and mix well until fully combined.

6. Add the remaining crumbled cakes and mix again.

7. Preheat your oven to 200°C.

8. In another bowl, crumble the second pack of cakes.

   

9. With wet or oiled hands, form the mixture into ping-pong-sized balls and coat them with the crumbled cake crumbs.

   

10. Lightly oil each ball – make sure the entire surface is well-coated.

11. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the patties are golden brown.

12. Enjoy while hot!