Here’s a flavorful tofu recipe that you can make in under 30 minutes. You want to use high heat so everything will cook quickly for nice color and texture. If you have a wok, that’s ideal, but a non-stick skillet is fine. Because you’ll be cooking at high heat, use an appropriate cooking oil as recommended in the recipe. I have you hold off adding the toasted sesame oil until the end because it’s best not to heat it too much.
Ingredients
14-oz block extra firm or super firm tofu
¼ cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
1.5 tbsp grated or minced fresh ginger or ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic, minced
½ tsp or to taste red pepper/chili flakes
2 tbsp canola, grapeseed, peanut or other high heat cooking oil
4-5 oz brown rice noodles or other noodles of choice
4 cups mix of chopped vegetables*
1.5 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp or as needed sesame seeds
*You can use any assortment of vegetables you like. Here I used about ½ cup each onion, red bell pepper and shitake mushrooms, plus about 2.5 cups of green beans. Some other great choices are broccoli florets, bok choy, snow peas, any color cabbage, scallions, tomatoes, baby corn, and sliced water chestnuts. Fruits such as pineapple and peaches also make nice additions.
Directions
1. Drain the tofu from its package. Wrap tofu in paper towel or clean dish towel and place on a plate. Place another plate on top, along with a weighted object such as a large can of tomato sauce or a cutting board. Allow tofu to sit for about 15 minutes in order to drain the water out. Cut the tofu into bite size cubes or rectangles. Make sure the tofu pieces are as dry as possible, patting them down with some more paper towel.
2. In a bowl, make your sauce by combining the tamari, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, water, and cornstarch and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine ginger, garlic, and hot pepper flakes.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and noodles and cook according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat and add the cooking oil. Once nice and hot, add the tofu and sauté, stirring frequently until the tofu gets a nice golden-brown color on all sides. Remove tofu from the pan and set aside on a plate.
5. To the same hot skillet, add a splash more cooking oil if necessary, and then the garlic, ginger and hot pepper/chili flakes, and cook for just a few seconds. Add vegetables and sauté a few minutes.
6. Add the cooked noodles to the skillet/wok, tossing to combine, and then add the tofu back in. Pour in the sauce, reduce heat to medium, and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Stir in the sesame oil, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve.
