Do you ever spend forever trying to decide the simplest things? I know I do…when it comes to ordering food, that is. I’m sad to say that far too much of my brain power has gone to agonizing over questions like “Sweet potato fries or regular?” “For the soup, did you want the cup or the bowl?” and “Pesto or marinara?” If these questions seem trivial, they absolutely are. But for someone whose happiness level is very much tied to getting these questions right – and who suffers from a disproportionate amount of ordering regret when it’s a miss – the decision can take a little while.
I had a similar dilemma when crafting this recipe, which was born out of a delicious thrown-together dinner (bowls are fabulous for these situations) a couple weeks back. I wasn’t planning to make it a blog post, but I was really happy with the tamarind-peanut sauce I had spontaneously created and thought a warming tofu satay bowl worth sharing. Then I had the leftovers – cold – the next day and found myself with an intriguing idea: should I post a summer salad instead? Same sauce – maybe make it a tiny bit more dressingy with a little vinegar – sub papaya for the broccoli, keep the tofu, cilantro, and peanuts, and maybe throw in some fresh basil? It certainly was quite delicious cold and you can never go wrong with fresh papaya! But I really liked that warm dinner bowl, too…
I was so torn that I ended up buying both broccoli and papaya at the store so I didn’t have to decide until later. And I ended up going with the satay bowl. I don’t have any regrets (because this bowl is really quite delicious) but if you feel like trying the salad variation I described, do go for it. I don’t think you’ll have regrets either way.