I was craving something warm for lunch, the weather has been super dull and rainy for the last three days here in London and it just had to be when I wasn't working. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to re - appear and guess what.. It's when I have to go back to work - of course that's the case! I wanted some form of comfort food today for lunch and I thought that making a stir-fry would just do it. There is something about stir-fries which are so yummy and diverse, you can literally add any form of protein and any form of veggies, and I do mean anything. It's great when you want to get rid of certain food groups in your fridge. I've also done stir-fries with salmon in the past, and more meat based with either chicken or ginger beef which is also a really nice recipe which I might add to the blog down the line but for now let's just focus on this dish - - this recipe is with tofu. Tofu doesn't appeal to everyone and probably right now it might have stopped you guys from being interested or not as eager to see the recipe, although it's super tasty and I wouldn't recommend dissing it before trying, you can always alternate tofu for chicken which works quite nicely with the flavours and has already been tried & tested in the past so I give you my go ahead. Here are the simple ingredients that you will need.
INGREDIENTS:
- Frozen or fresh Sitr-fry veggies of your choice
(I always use a base with cabbage and peppers)
- Tofu
(Again any protein of your choice *)
- Mushrooms
- x2 cloves of garlic
- x3tbsp soy sauce
-x1tsp of sesame oil
- x1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- x2 tbsp of water
Salt & pepper to taste
- Uncle Bens Wholegrain Rice
Does it ever happen that sometimes you buy so many veggies and they just go bad because you don't have time to consume them all in time. I decided to buy a stir fry mix with the veggies all chopped up this makes the process much faster and really at ease when you don't have time to stay prepping, usually I buy the frozen bag which lasts for longer but this time round I used up a fresh packet. I just love ,love cabbage in my stir-fries and this mix happened to be with cabbage and peppers, and I obviously added some mushrooms to the mix.
First off, adding crushed garlic to the pan before the oil is hot is a good way of letting the oil get infused by the garlic which will just enhance the flavours. Obviously you don't want to let the garlic burn so not long after add the mushrooms so that they start browning slightly. I didn't want to drench my shrooms in oil so instead I added some water just to help fasten the process.
Once the mushrooms seem to be cooking nicely and well on their way before the water evaporates completely, I decided to add in the tofu which I chopped up into pieces along with the veggies of your choice, the reason why I added the veggies once there was still some water let in the pan was again to help soften quicker and preventing them from burning. Cook for 1min or two.
It's time to add the soy - sauce and your sesame oil. I like the combination of the two especially in stir-fries. I believe that this dish or any stir fry for that matter cannot be complete without one or the other. The smell of sesame oil is just divine when cooking.
Then just allow for it to all cook and marinate together, and for the veggies to soak up the soy sauce. Try make sure to stir from time to time, so that the veggies don't burn. This in total should take less than five minutes of frying on high heat, you will know once it's done, your veggies would have wilted slightly and the peppers would be less crunchy, I like mine to still have an added crunch, but depending on your taste, cook for longer if you want the veg to cook thoroughly and to be softer.
& that's about it, add salt and pepper to taste as I did and you're ready to let it cool down or to eat straight away. I put mine on the side to allow my rice to cook to accompany this dish, however by the time the rice is cooked my mix is always reduced by half (guilty!) Quinoa or potatoes also suits this dish really well and makes it more of a substantial meal. I added the leftover mix in a tortilla wrap which is ready for my to go lunch tomorrow.
I always make a little more than the single portion as it keeps well and is amazing for leftovers or another night where you don't want to cook and have a sooper dooper meal ready ahead of time.
