Crispy Tofu & Easy Stir-Fry Sauce with Vegetables
I cook often, so I have odds and ends of left over veggies in my fridge. This is a very simple stir-fry vegetable dish that you can make whenever you are trying to use up vegetables in your fridge.
You don’t have to make a stir fry sauce like I did. You can use store bought. However, my stir-fry sauce recipe is so easy. It requires just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make.
You can use any protein you like, I’m using extra firm tofu to make a crispy tofu that is baked in the oven. It takes a bit of time to make the tofu because you have to extract as much water as you can from the tofu and bake in the oven for 20 minutes on each side to get it nice and crispy.
This is a complete meal that is very satisfying and delicious. The recipe below might seem lengthy but don’t be afraid to try it. The steps below are really simple and easy to follow and make.
Here’s a suggestion – while water is being extracted from the tofu, you can make your stir-fry sauce. While your tofu is getting crispy in the oven, you can make your stir-fry vegetables. This way you’re not wasting anytime and you have a meal you made from scratch and it all comes together in under 2 hours.
I also made a pan baked fish to go with this stir-fry veggies and rice, as one of my friends was eating with us and preferred fish over tofu. I used my home made stir-fry sauce to marinate the salmon and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Watch my 3 minute video to make this delicious complete meal 🙂
How to make crispy tofu and fast and easy stir-fry sauce with veggies
Ingredients
Ingredients for Crispy Tofu
- 1 tbsp tamari sauce
- 1 tbsp oil (sesame or avacado oil is good here, I used sesame oil)
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 block extra firm tofu
Ingredients for Stir-Fry Sauce
- 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger (approximately 1 inch piece of ginger makes 1 tbsp, grate on fine setting)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (approximately 3 cloves make 1 tbsp, this depends on the size of your garlic cloves. Use a garlic press to get minced garlic)
- 1 red chilli (chopped fine)
- 1/4 cup tamari sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1 tsp tapioca flour
Ingredients for Stir-Fry Vegetables
- 1 cup carrots (chopped how you like, I sliced diagonally to get alongated circles)
- 1 cup broccoli (cut in large florets, use the broccoli stems as well)
- 1/4 cup broccoli stems (chopped how you like)
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 cup kale (any kind of kale chopped, with or without stems)
- 3 green onions (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp oil (sesame oil is best for this dish, but use oil of your choice)
Instructions
To Make Crispy Tofu in Oven
- Start by rinsing tofu and wrapping it in a cheese cloth or a clean tea towel. Place something heavy on top of the tofu to help extract as much water as possible for an hour or so. Once you've extracted as much water as you can, cut tofu into cubes and place in a bowl.(Tip: a large mason jar with dried beans or a couple of cook books can be placed over the tofu. However, it should'nt be too heavy as your tofu will break).
- Make a simple sauce of 1 tbsp tamari sauce + 1 tbsp sesame oil. Pour this over cubed tofu, then sprinkle 1 tbsp of tapioca flour and mix well. Being gentle not to break your tofu cubes.
- Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 decgrees Celsius) for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip tofu cubes and bake again for another 20 minutes. Once ready keep aside.
To Make Stir-Fry Sauce
- Finely grate 2 tbsps of ginger, mince 2 tbsp of garlic, finely chop 1 large red chili. Measure out 1/4 cup of tamari sauce, 1/4 cup of sesame oil, 1 tsp of tapioca flour, add your ginger, garlic and chili to this and mix well.
- Turn heat on low, to a seasoning pot add prepared stir-fry sauce and cook on low flame for 1 minute stiring continously, till your sauce thckens, but does not clump together.
- Allow to cool to room temeperature, store in an air tight container in the fridge.
To Make Stir-Fry Vegetables
- Chop all the vegetables that you would like to use.
- To a wok add about 2 tbsp oil and heat on medium high, add in vegetables based on what takes the longest to cook first, only stir frying each veggie for about a minute or so. Don't overcook.
- Finally add broccoli (if using), pour in your stir-fry sauce and mix well. Cook only for a minute. Then add kale or any greens if using and mix well. Turn off heat and add green onions.
- Serve with steamed rice and tofu. Also delicious with rice noodles and a protein of your choice such as fish
