Tofu Stirfry

Serves 4 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

For the marinade

1/2 tsp salt

1 TB brown sugar

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB sesame oil

For the sauce

½ cup stock or water

3 TB soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar, to taste

1/2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 tsp cornstarch

For the stir fry

1 lb extra-firm tofu

2 TB peanut oil

1 head of broccoli

2 medium carrots

5 oz green beans

3 oz snap peas

2 scallions

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 or 2 TB peanut oil

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 TB water

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Method

1. Remove the tofu from its carton and slice in half. Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels. If you have one, use a 1-inch object to raise one end of the baking sheet. Place a paper towel on top of the tofu and then another baking sheet on top of that. Place a weight (a couple of cans or a heavy bowl will do). Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Remove the tofu from the baking sheet and cut into 1-inch pieces. Mix the marinade and place the cut tofu in a zipper bag. Pour in the marinade and squish it around a bit to distribute the marinade over all the tofu. Put in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

3. Mix the sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. If using, mix the corn starch and water in a separate small bowl. Set both aside.

4. Cut the top off the broccoli. Separate the broccoli top into individual florets (seriously—they need to be tiny) and peel the stalk. Chop the stalk into 1/4-inch pieces. Top and tail the green beans, and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Grate the carrot. Cut the snap peas in half. Remove the root end, and chop the scallions. When the chopping is done, take the tofu out of the refrigerator.

5. Turn on the stovetop fan. Begin heating a wok or wide skillet over high heat. Add 1 TB of oil and add the broccoli, and turn the heat to medium-high. Stir constantly while it cooks for 1 minute (it may get a little browned). Add 1 TB of peanut oil and add the green beans and stir fry for another minute. Add the carrot, snap peas, tofu, scallions, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.

6. Push the vegetables to the edges of the wok or pan. Stir the sauce well, and add it in the center of the pan or wok. It will boil (raise the heat if it doesn’t). Give the cornstarch mixture a stir, and then add to the sauce and mix well. Once it has thickened, stir into the rest of the ingredients evenly. Serve hot over rice.

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Variation: Use any vegetable you have—cut them about the same size. You are aiming for a total of about 1½ pounds of vegetables. You may want to substitute frozen green beans and peas (and others) during the off-season.

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