Quick + Easy Meal!  Let’s put together a Tofu Bowl!

Here’s our usual tofu stir fry recipe, but with a small twist to give it a bit of zing!

• Cut a firm block of tofu into 3 or 4 equally thick wedges. Bake at 400°F for about 5 minutes on each side. No need to pat dry before placing in the oven!  Once they’ve hardened up just a bit, with a touch of crisp on the outside, remove from oven and cut into cubes.  Toss into a wok or frying pan on med-high heat with a bit of oil. Sesame, avocado, or vegetable oil work best due to higher smoking points.

• After a few minutes of cooking to allow the tofu to crisp up just a bit, toss in the vegetables. We add firmer veggies (bell peppers and onions) before adding softer ones like broccoli, mushrooms, or carrot slices.  In this particular recipe, we added sliced yellow bell pepper and red onions at the same time.

• Toss generously with a Korean BBQ seasoning- we use the one from Spiceology, which has the perfect amount of spice and classic umami Asian flavors.

What sets this stir fry apart is the Asian pickled cabbage and sesame cucumbers, which balance the spice and saltiness with some bitterness.
Sesame cucumbers:

• peel some, but not all of the skin from a cucumber.  Leaving some of the skin on provides a touch of bitterness without the toughness.

• next, slice the cucumber lengthwise in half, and each half in half again making for “quarter-round” wedges.  Cut out most of the seeds from each quartered length, then slice up the remaining cucumber.

• Toss in 2 T sesame oil, 2 T agave or honey, and 1/4-1/2 cup rice vinegar.

• Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Pickled cabbage:

• slice up 1/4 of head of cabbage

• place in small bowl and toss in 1 T sugar and 1 T salt.  Mix aggressively with your hands, making sure to “mash” in the salt and sugar mix into the cabbage.

• cover with 1-2 cups of white wine vinegar and let soak for at least an hour.

This quick pickling mix works great for most peppers or red onions (which are fantastic on shredded chicken tacos!), and it will keep in your refrigerator for about a week.

Once you have your cucumbers and cabbage, add the cabbage into the stir fry mix.  We like our cucumbers off to the side, to mix in with the tofu, or eat “as-is” for a crunchy treat!