Yesterday was a looonnngggg day. The last thing I felt like doing was cooking when I got home. This quick and easy stir fry could be dressed up if you used different vegetables or special sauces. You could add cashews or egg in place of the tofu if tofu isn't your cup of tea.
I've talked before about buying and eating seasonal produce. But what's a veggie to do when winter rolls around?? Our grocery stores *magically* make fresh produce that normally grows only in spring appear all year-round. What gives?? Usually this produce is imported from other countries thousands of miles away (check the little sticker or rubber-band!). Usually the produce is picked well before it is ripe, and then bounces along on a truck until it reaches your grocery store. Remember the phytochemicals? While your asparagus or tomatoes are en route, they loose a large percentage of these disease-fighting agents along the way!
The solution? Frozen produce. Fresh always best when it's in season and you can find it locally. Out of season, however, frozen produce is the next best option. It is usually not picked until it is ripe, and then flash-frozen immediately. That means (most of) those phytochemicals and other nutrients stay intact! Canned foods are another story. Preservatives, salt and other things are added and things turn funny colors.
Aaaaand... bags of pre-washed and cut vegetables are a wonderful thing to pull out of your freezer when you've had a long day. Which brings me to the recipe for Tofu Veggie Stir-fry. This recipe is enough for 2-4 people.
You will need:
1 block extra-firm tofu
1 (non-fuzzy) dish towel or multiple paper towels
Soy sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1TBS chili powder
3-4 TBS chopped green onion
1c brown rice
2c water (more or less according to your rice's cooking directions)
One 1lb bag frozen stir fry veggies
3 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS olive oil
Salt & pepper
1. Remove tofu from packaging and drain excess water. Wrap tofu in the towel and place it under something flat and heavy in your refrigerator... like your roommate's 6-pack of, ahem, beverages.
2. Take a nap (...at least I did. The tofu should stay wrapped in a towel and under compression for at least a half hour so all the excess water is pressed from the tofu so it's ready for the next step).
3. Begin boiling water for rice.
4. Cut tofu into 1" cubes, place in tupperware container with 3-4 TBS soy sauce, chili powder, and minced garlic. Shake and roll the tupperware gently until the tofu is coated in the mixture. Let the sit during the next step.
5. When water boils, add rice to water and cook according to the directions on the bag of rice (simmer over med-low heat for 30-40 minutes with a lid).
6. When the rice has ~10 minutes left to cook, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, non-stick pan (or a wok, if you have one).
7. Add tofu to the hot oil (I know, I know... I said earlier to never overheat oil... but this is an exception I make since I don't cook tofu often. Otherwise it will stay soft and soggy). Use a fork to rotate the cubes until all sides are light brown. Remove the tofu from the pan and place it on a plate lined with a paper-towel to soak up any extra oil.
8. Into the still-hot pan, add your veggies. Mine were still quite frozen, and took a while to heat up. Once your veggies are warm, add pepper and rice wine vinegar.
9. Add the tofu back into the veggies and gently stir for another minute or two to reheat the tofu.
10. Serve the tofu and veggies over the rice. Add some of the green onion on top.
Nom!
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