Carrot & Red Pepper Tofu Stir Fry
One of my favourite dishes is anything made with Tofu!!
Tofu: The trick to having a delicious Tofu dish is to make sure you use firm or very firm GMO Free tofu and then dry it well with towels or paper towels. This allows it to have more of a “meat-like” texture and it will soak up any sauce you choose to add it to. Tofu can replace just about any meat in most recipes you love.
The Sauce: For this recipe I love this simple stir fry sauce. You can also use this sauce for so many other dishes from using it as a salad dressing to pouring over any baked or steamed vegetable or rice! It can even be used as a BBQ sauce.
You can eat this dish as is, with more veggies, alongside a salad or on top of rice or quinoa.
For my family I usually take this recipe and triple it. I always love leftovers to snack on!!
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To prepare tofu slice blocks lengthwise and place on a paper towel. Add a few more layers of paper towel or a towel, place another cutting board on top then weigh it down. I like to use a kettle filled with water and I let it sit for at least 20 – 30 minutes while I prep the rest of the dish.
Cut your veggies to the thickness you enjoy. I used organic red and orange peppers and organic carrots in this dish but you can use any vegetable you enjoy like snap peas, green beans, broccoli…
Bake cubed dried tofu on greased on non greased baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn a couple times during cooking,
Mix the sauce in a bowl and whisk.
After the tofu is baked toss in a couple Tbsp of the sauce and set aside.
Take the rest of the sauce and add to your lightly cooked vegetables and bring to a boil to thicken the sauce.
Add cooked tofu and toss everything together.
Serve as is or over rice or quinoa. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy. This dish will allow you non tofu lovers a taste treat that they will love.
Enjoy!!
Carrot & Red Pepper Tofu Stir Fry
Print RecipeIngredients
- STIR FRY
- 1 14-ounce package firm or extra-firm tofu
- 2 cups organic carrots - julienne
- 1 cup organic red pepper - thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil for sautéing (coconut oil)
- SAUCE
- 1/4 cup organic soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 Tbsp organic brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp organic maple syrup or raw honey
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- TOPPING
- 1 - 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and begin drying your tofu. Drain, remove it from the package, and place between two thick towels folded into the shape of the tofu on the counter or cutting board.
Take another cutting board and place on top of the paper towel that is on top of the tofu and allow 20 - 30 minutes. Then cut the tofu into 1 inch (cubes) squares.
If serving over rice or quinoa make sure to begin cooking it now.
Toss tofu with a bit of soy sauce and olive oil (1 tbsp of each) and arrange tofu on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet to prevent sticking and bake for a total of 25-35 minutes, flipping once halfway through to ensure even cooking. This will dry out the tofu and help give it a more meat-like texture. If you want a tougher texture, cook it for 30-35.
Remove from oven when it is golden brown and a bit tough and firm. Set aside while you prepare the vegetables. This recipe includes red pepper and carrots but feel free to use any vegetables you like from peas to beans to broccoli...
If serving over rice, start the rice at this point.
Sauce
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients – set aside.
Add the sesame oil (or coconut oil) to a large frying pan and add carrots and red pepper. Cook for about 5 - 7 minutes. stirring constantly.
Add the sauce to the vegetables and stir. Bring to a boil to thicken then add tofu and toss.
Cook everything for another 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
Remove from heat.
Serve as is in a bowl or on a place as is and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
As mentioned above you can also serve over rice or quinoa if you like.
You can keep leftovers in the refrigerator for a couple days for snacks or another meal!
Notes
Tofu: is a widely-enjoyed food made from soybeans, and it is a great example of how a simple food like soybeans can be woven into human food traditions in a way that is natural, inexpensive, and nourishing. Tofu is a surprisingly versatile form of soybeans that is made by curdling soy milk so that its proteins become coagulated and then pressed into blocks that can be sliced easily. It is very important to always purchase GMO Free Soy!! Red Peppers: Are on the list called "The Dirty Dozen" and should be purchased organic. You can also use orange or yellow peppers. Why not green peppers: Did you know that green peppers are just unripe red peppers? Because they are not fully mature, they have a bitter after taste, cause indigestion and contain half the vitamin C and 1/10th the vitamin A compared to their red or orange siblings. Vitamin A is important for eye health, and vitamin C may prevent the common colds.
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