Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Tofu and vegetable stir fry with peanut sauce

Dinner on Monday: stir fry.  The beauty of stir fry is that it doesn't require precision (at least, in my experience).  I'll list the recipe below, but you can really use any vegetables or other ingredients you like.

Recipe:
Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup oil (I used canola oil because that's what we had; but, sesame oil would be best)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (we used low-sodium soy sauce)
  • 2 talbespoons water
  • 1/4+ teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • Assorted vegetables--we used a bag of frozen "stir fry vegetables," including snap peas, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, red pepper, and more.
  • One package extra-firm tofu, pressed and cubed
Whisk together the first 5 ingredients to create the peanut sauce.  Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat up a small amount of oil over medium-high heat.  Add the tofu and brown it by letting it rest on each side for a few minutes.
Once the tofu looks generally golden brown, add the vegetables.  Heat until warm.
Add the peanut sauce, and heat until warm.

Rice:
Meanwhile, prepare rice according to the package instructions.  We used brown rice.

Once the rice and stir fry are both ready, serve together.  We also splurged at the grocery store and bought spring rolls, which are always great.  Mmm.

Comments:
Rachel really liked the stir fry and hopes we make it again.  She also enjoyed the spring rolls, but none of us can take any credit for that :) 

Simon thought using frozen vegetables was a good way to get a variety of vegetables (spoken by someone who likes a frustratingly low number of vegetables...).  He gave dinner 7 thumbs up.

I thought it was very good and very filling.  I'm traditionally not a huge fan of tofu--I wouldn't choose it over some other meat substitutes--but I enjoyed it here.  Browning it is key.  The major benefit of this recipe is that it's quick and low-maintenance (especially when using frozen vegetables).  My mom has noted in the past that vegan cooking requires a lot of prep work, but this recipe is an exception. 

2 comments:

  1. MMmm I've been doing lots of stir fries over here, so I'm going to try this one! I basically cook vegan haha because I'm not brave enough to buy the meat and cheese doesn't really exist. Milk exists, but it comes in cartons that don't need to be refrigerated and kills babies so I avoid that...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm, seems like it's a good idea to steer clear of the milk...

    ReplyDelete

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