Tofus are such delicate food that the slightest uncareful interaction with them can cause a messy affair.
Baby V has tried tofu in the usual manners (think: soup) and I’m excited to take up the challenge of using this fragile ingredient and turning it into a mess-free (okay, maybe less messy) dish that’s easy for baby led weaners.
With this experiment, I’m stoked to say that this is great for babies and toddlers with common food intolerances – NO EGG, NO WHEAT, NO NUTS!
Best of all, they don’t crumble! So that means less chaos and clean up. To take the experiment further, we took these patties out with us, so baby V had them out of home. Let’s see how it went!
Egg-free Tofu Pork Patties Recipe
~ makes 6 patties
Ingredients:
1/4 portion of Tofu – rinsed and mashed
Fist size of minced pork – washed and drained
5 pieces Baby Carrots – washed and sliced, or cut as preferred. Some prefer to shred or dice, it’s entirely up to you on how “chewable” you like them for your bub. We usually give Vera textures and lumps and never blend her food.. okay, I don’t have a blender but that’s besides the point.
10 leaves of Kale – washed and chopped roughly
Seasoning for meat (optional):
Sprinkles of McCormick Italian seasoning
1 tsp light soy sauce
Steps:
1) Marinate minced meat with above seasonings, cover bowl with cling wrap and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes. Skip seasonings if you prefer otherwise. Proceed with the latter.
2) In a separate bowl, mix kale, tofu and baby carrots. Drain any liquid and cover bowl with cling wrap and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes.
3) 30 minutes later, drain liquids or condensation in bowls. Mix ingredients together and it would look like this (see picture below).
4) Heat pan over medium fire. Pour olive oil/butter onto pan. Using a spoon or by hand, shape the mixture into desired shape and size, and place them onto pan.
5) Pan fry till golden brown. They should look drier too and it’s normal if some parts get charred. (*Remove charred portions before feeding.) Allow to cool slightly before offering baby.
TA-DA!! Here are the Tofu Pork Patties that won’t crumble! I’ve been trying to get hold of kale for awhile – they are not available very often – but these superfoods are getting less credit than they deserve.
We brought them out in a Zojirushi Thermal Food Jar, well, of course it doesn’t keep it warm (who were we trying to kid?!) since there were only 6 loose pieces dancing in the jar. Baby V gets to eat certain adult meals now that she’s older, so these patties would complement the food options. As she ate the patties, her legs were swinging and she started bouncing in her seat – swell moment for mummy as that meant these had her stamp of approval! WOOHOO!! SUCCESS!!
We were at Food for Thought and hubs was having Banana Pancakes while I had Grilled Salmon. The little one had the best of everything: Pancakes (carbs), Bananas (fruit), Salmon (protein) and of course her Tofu Patties! Her gleeful expression said it all! :D
Tips:
- This recipe is highly versatile – you could switch the meats to fish, chicken or beef. The same with the rest of the ingredients but I have a thing for a “balanced” dish, so I’d go for meat and veggie usually, depending on what we can find at the supermarket.
- For tofu, not exactly necessary to go for the harder types, as we found the one we used worked great for us! Some folks are concerned with the GMO aspect of soy; consider organic options if you prefer.
- If seasoning is not your thing, consider adding cheese for extra calcium and savoury touch. Both kale and tofu are neutral-tasting.
- For extra crunch, try adding water chestnut or turnips.
- For extra texture, coat with breadcrumbs or biscuit crumbs on the outside so they have a crisp “skin” on.
- Cooking style: This would work great with an Air Fryer too!
That wasn’t too tough, was it? These Tofu Pork Patties are great for picky veg eater (adults included!)! Have a chowing good time too, boys and girls!
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