Not Your Average Stir-Fry

This vegetarian meal is hearty and filling. It's the perfect healthy dinner to please vegans, vegetarians and anyone who loves asian-inspired flavors. It’s easiest to make in a wok, since a regular pan has a risk of overflowing- but an extra large standard pan can work, as long as you’re careful stirring. The key to this delicious stir fry is crispy tofu! Make sure you buy extra firm tofu to minimize crumbling. This is not your average stir fry!

Ingredients (yields 4 servings):

• One brick of extra firm tofu

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• 1 onion diced

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• About 1 cup snap peas 

• About 2 cups broccoli florets

• About 1 cup of slaw or sliced cabbage

• About 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

• 1 bell pepper

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• ½ cup soy sauce

• ½ cup rice vinegar

• 1 tsp chili flakes

• Package of Shirataki noodles (or rice noodles) - optional

Start with the tofu:

First, heat ¾ cup vegetable oil in the wok over high heat.

Pat the tofu dry to remove excess water. Next, cube tofu into bite sized pieces. Be mindful that larger pieces will stay together better- small pieces are likely to crumble. Once tofu is cubed, coat each piece with a light layer of cornstarch. This is best done by putting cornstarch in a shallow bowl and dipping tofu pieces one at a time. Once coated, place tofu pieces in hot oil for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. We did our tofu in two batches, since all the tofu didn’t fit at once. 

Once all the tofu is fried and crispy, set aside on a paper towel. They should be golden brown.

Next step is the stir fry:

Dump most of the hot oil out of the wok but keep a little in the bottom. Add minced garlic and stir over medium heat. After 2 minutes, add broccoli florets and stir periodically for 5 minutes. Once broccoli starts wilting and softening, add snap peas, bells pepper and onion. Stir periodically for 10 minutes. When peppers and onions are softened, finally add mushrooms and cabbage (slaw). Keep stirring wok for at least 5-10 minutes, so veggies can evenly cook throughout.

The final steps:

Combine the remaining ¼ cup oil with soy sauce, rice vinegar and chili flakes in a small bowl and stir until incorporated into a smooth sauce. Drizzle sauce over the stir fry (be sure to save a little sauce for later). If you decided to go with shirataki noodles, stir them into the veggies as the final step, making sure everything is evenly coated with sauce. (These shirataki noodles are really cool- almost no carbs or calories, yet they taste like regular rice noodles). Lastly, remove the wok from heat and serve up your stir fry into bowls. Top the bowl with cubes of crispy tofu! Drizzle with remaining sauce. Feel free to add a little bit of your favorite hot sauce for an extra zing!