I've been wanting to play around with tofu for a while now, and a stir-fry seemed like a good place to start because there are so many other textures and flavors—the tofu is but a small part. I can't say I'm completely on board with tofu's texture, but the flavor of the sauce in this stir fry is outstanding, and the tofu becomes almost like a crouton that you can either enjoy or pick out. Of course, you can replace it with chicken if you prefer.


Feel free to play around with the vegetables. You can use almost any combination with good results.


Most people typically pair stir-fry with white, brown, or fried rice, but here I've used barley. Any grain that will soak up the sauce can work and it's fun to play around with different ones—millet, farro, and quinoa will all work too.


Stir-Fry Ingredients:

  • 14 oz. tofu
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 4 carrots
  • 4 small heads baby bok choy
  • 1 lb. button mushrooms
  • 2-3 scallions
  • 1 purple onion
  • ½ cup roasted, salted cashews
  • 2-4 tablespoons oil

Sauce Ingredients:

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. mirin
  • ¼ cup honey (optional: replace with brown sugar)
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup oil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 one-inch (approx) chunks of ginger

Directions:

  1. Whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
  2. Press and drain your tofu. Cut into cubes and coat with the flour.
  3. Peel the carrots. Discard peels. Use the peeler to cut the rest of each carrot into ribbons.
  4. Slice the mushrooms, onions, and scallions. Was the baby bok choy and separate the leaves. Depending on the size of the leaves, you may wish to cut them.
  5. Heat the oil in a wok or non-stick skillet and fry the tofu until golden brown. Add the sliced vegetables and saute until bright and just cooked through but still crunchy. Add ¼ cup of the sauce and cook a few minutes more. Add half the cashews immediately before removing from the pan.
  6. Serve over rice, barley, quinoa or any other grain. Drizzle with additional sauce when serving (optional) and garnish with remaining cashews.

Yields: 6 servings

Adapted from a recipe on Pinch of Yum.