Friday night, while my two boys and I were having Mediterranean Marinated Flank Steak, my vegetarian husband had this yummy stir fry.
As I was about to chop the tofu into cubes for the stir fry, I saw my vegetable peeler out of the corner of my eye and got a magical idea. Yes, I just referred to the way I was going to cut my tofu as magical. It was! Since I was using extra firm tofu, I knew I would be able “peel” thin strips, making a “noodle” of sorts. In “super thin strip” form, the tofu can be added in the last few seconds of the cooking process. The tofu strips will still soak up a ton of flavor, and they just might make you feel as though you’re having a hearty pasta! This is a fantastic vegetarian meal!
I sort of threw this together on the fly so the measurements can be “more or less” — they don’t have to be exact. We’re not making a cake here! In fact, add whatever veggies you like!
Recipe
About 1/3 of a 1-pound block extra firm tofu
Grape seed oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced brown onion
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
A handful of fresh mint leaves
A splash of orange juice
Tamari and sea salt to taste
Togarashi
- Use a vegetable peeler to make super thin "noodles" out of the tofu chunk. Set aside.
- Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and broccoli and cook just until tender, about 5 minutes. Then stir in the pepper, mint leaves, and the tofu "noodles." Add the orange juice and season to taste with Tamari and a bit of salt. Sprinkle with Togarashi and serve!
Notes
Grapeseed oil is very low in saturated fat, has a high burning point, and doesn't interfere with the other flavors. It's my first choice when I cook with Asian flavors. It's available in most markets.
Tamari is a type of Japanese soy sauce that's a bit darker and is slightly thicker than ordinary soy sauce. It's all we use at home since it's gluten-free (which it has to be for my 7-year-old son who has Celiac Disease). Regular soy sauce contains wheat.
Togarashi is the Japanese word for red chili peppers. It'll add some great heat!
So delicious! And so pretty!
All of your ideas are so creative and beautiful. Good work and great creativity here! Even the carrots look like noodles!
I would have never thought to use a peeler on tofu… how creative!
What a great idea. It might even make me eat tofu. And I love stir-fry. Hmmmm… maybe dinner next week.