Mmmmmm. Stir-fry. It's definitely a regular around here. When I recently made a strong effort to abandon processed foods as much as possible, I had to learn to make my own sauces. So I needed to come up with a good one for my stir-fry. Here's what I came up with: A decent sized handful of brown sugar (not packed!), a few (several?) TBS of Shoyu or soy sauce, a smidge of Thai chili paste, a few drops of sesame oil, garlic powder, a pinch of salt, and a few good shakes of Chinese Five-Spice Powder. Mix all that up and add a little water to thin it out. It's actually an excellent sauce. I have no idea how I came up with that, but like many other random things, it just entered my head.I almost always add tofu to my veggie stir-fries. You know, the whole protein thing? As many of you know, I very much prefer Spring Creek tofu. It's made here in WV. Spencer, to be exact. (Hi, Rebecca!) It's vastly superior to any other tofu I've had. I know, y'all think I'm crazy. Tofu is tofu. Right? WRONG!
So, I like my tofu to be chewy as opposed to mushy, so I start by pressing it. I place it between some paper towels and put a cast-iron griddle and skillet on top of it. I let it sit for about an hour. Then I slice it in thin slices and crisp it up in a non-stick skillet sprayed with PAM, or some such spray.
After I've got the whole block crispy, I cut it into bite-sized strips:
Then I heat a bit (1-2 TBS) of oil in my pan. First I add a sliced onion, a few good-sized cloves of minced garlic, and two large carrots (cut however you like them). After that has softened just a bit, I add a head of broccoli florets, a sliced red pepper and the tofu. I stir-fry that for a while until it's looking close to done. Then I crank up the heat, and add the sauce. The high heat helps the sauce thicken a bit. I let it cook for a few minutes, and then it's ready. Easy, huh? I like it served over brown rice.
Today I listened to an album that I hadn't listened to for a long time, Neko Case's Blacklisted. I had forgotten how much I like it. Totally reminds me of Mazzy Star with more of a country twang. After that, I just couldn't help myself and played Coldplay's X&Y for the billionth time this month. That's good stuff.
After I've got the whole block crispy, I cut it into bite-sized strips:
Then I heat a bit (1-2 TBS) of oil in my pan. First I add a sliced onion, a few good-sized cloves of minced garlic, and two large carrots (cut however you like them). After that has softened just a bit, I add a head of broccoli florets, a sliced red pepper and the tofu. I stir-fry that for a while until it's looking close to done. Then I crank up the heat, and add the sauce. The high heat helps the sauce thicken a bit. I let it cook for a few minutes, and then it's ready. Easy, huh? I like it served over brown rice.
Today I listened to an album that I hadn't listened to for a long time, Neko Case's Blacklisted. I had forgotten how much I like it. Totally reminds me of Mazzy Star with more of a country twang. After that, I just couldn't help myself and played Coldplay's X&Y for the billionth time this month. That's good stuff.
5 comments:
Your stir-fry looks awesome, and the sauce sounds fantastic. I'm going to be trying this one soon. I often make up my own sauces for stir-fry, because I'm too cheap to buy store bought ones, but I never make the same thing twice. Your sauce may become a regular!!
Do you like guitar? If so, you should check out Sanjay Mishra. He's an Indian guitarist. I love to do yoga to his music. His album Blue Incantation is the best (maybe because it features Jerry Garcia, I don't know, just guessing)
Hmmm. Sanjay Mishra sounds familiar. I'll definitely be checking him out.
Awesome. I have no clue what to do with tofu, so it's cool that you showed how to use it. I like it when I get it at the local chinese place, but the two times I've tried to cook with it have been disastrous!
rebecca: Honestly, I think the trick is to definitely get the outside crispy before you do anything with it. After you do that, it's good almost any way.
Must be, because when I made it, it was just this gummy, flavorless mess. LOL!!!
Although I do like the tofu crumbles that you can put in chili. I made veg chili with it and never told my family it wasn't beef. They were clueless. :) It was soooooo good, too!
Post a Comment