Tofunaar and soycerer

Some time ago, I cooked my friends a tofu stew. They liked it so much that they exclaimed 'she is a real tofunaar! And a new term was coined for the wizard with tofu, in Dutch a play on words, a combination of tovenaar (sorcerer) and tofu (soybean curd). Actually easy to translate in English with soycerer.
What was the dish that lay at the root for this creativity? My version of a tofu stew, and here for you the recipe.

Tofu stew (4 persons)

Ingredients:

250 gr Tofu

Marinade for Tofu:

½ tablespoon sunflower oil

½ teaspoon ginger powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

10 ml soy sauce or tamari

10 ml water

Stew:

50 gr. onions

250 gr. Chinese or white cabbage, sliced

60 gr. peas

60 gr. French beans, sliced

200 gr. sbean sprouts

60 gr. carrots, small pieces

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon grated galangal root (laos)

1 teaspoon grated ginger

¼ teaspoon red chili powder

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

water

salt to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method marinade, 12-24 hrs before cooking the stew:

Chop tofu in small cubes.

Heat the sunflower oil in a non-stick pan and fry all the spices for 30 seconds, add soy sauce (or tamari) and water. Mix well. Add the tofu cubes and add water until the tofu is covered, mix and cook for a few minutes. Let this mixture cool down, cover it and keep aside (if the outside temperature is too warm, keep in the fridge).

Preparing the stew:

Peel and chop the onions, slice the cabbage, slice the French beans and chop the carrots.

Heat the sunflower oil, add cumin seed and mustard seed, when the seeds start jumping add the onions and fry till golden. Add grated ginger, galangal root, coriander powder and red chilli powder and fry a few seconds. Add carrots, cabbage(white cabbage takes more time to cook than Chinese cabbage) and French beans, cook until soft, add peas and tofu with its marinade, cook for another 10 minutes. Add bean sprouts and coriander leaves just before serving.

Enjoy with rice!