I complained to Chef Brian when he sent me the vegetarian menu because I’m just the worst when it comes to stir fry. I’ve burned the bottom out of two woks and anything I make in one turns into soy-flavored charcoal.
I borrowed a good wok from my buddy Kevin, all the stars aligned, and I knocked this one out of the park (thanks to a stellar recipe, for sure). The sauce is the star here–tangy, spicy, sweet–and the tofu, slightly crisp from a flash fry in the wok, soaks all of it up.
Here’s Week 30, Meal 2: Veggie-tofu stir fry with umeboshi plum vinegar soy sauce.
The Recipe (Yield: 2 servings)
10 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4″ pieces and patted dry
6-8 oz. snow peas, cleaned
1 large carrot, julienne
1 small head broccoli, florets cut down to 3/4″ size
3 T soy sauce
2 T umeboshi plum vinegar
1 T orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 t honey
1 1/2 t pickled ginger, minced
1 t sriracha
1 serrano chile, seeded and small diced
1 fresno chile, seeded and small diced
1/4 c cashews, toasted and roughly chopped
2 t black and white sesame seeds
1 T scallions, sliced
cooking spray
Knock out the sauce first. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, umeboshi plum vinegar, honey, pickled ginger, orange juice concentrate, sriracha and serrano and fresno peppers.
In a small saute pan over medium heat, toast the cashews until they are slightly brown and slightly fragrant.
Heat a large saute pan or wok to very high heat. Using as much cooking spray as you need to prevent sticking (don’t go crazy), cook the tofu until it gets golden brown on each side. Remove it from the pan, wipe the pan out and grab those veggies!
Hit the pan with more cooking spray and cook the broccoli for 3-4 minutes. Add snow peas and carrot and cook for 1-2 minutes more. The veggies should have some crunch, while being more soft than hard.
Toss the tofu back in the pan with half the sauce and the cashews. Cook for 30-45 seconds more, tossing to coat everything with the sauce.
In the sauce bowl, add the sesame seeds and scallions to the remaining sauce.
To plate: Split the stir fry between two bowls or plates and drizzle with the remaining sauce.