Stir-fry Sauce

 

This is quite simply the easiest stir-fry sauce you will make. You can adjust the crushed red pepper flakes depending on your level of heat or leave them out all together and replace them with a good dose of sriracha sauce or sweet chilli sauce. It has that combination of elements... sweet, salty, sour and spicy which delivers a flavourful stir-fry.  

Stir-fry Sauce

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1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 - 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar or honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 - 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until fully combined.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To use stir-fry sauce:

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok.

Add your protein of choice (cubed chicken, slices of beef, tofu or shrimp) and cook until browned and almost cooked through. 

Transfer the protein to a clean plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok or skillet and approximately 4 to 6 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice (onion, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, edamame beans). Stir-fry until tender and crisp. Return the protein to the pan with the vegetables and add the stir-fry sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened, stirring to evenly distribute the sauce. Serve over cooked rice or noodles and sprinkled with sesame seeds. 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Noodle Rice Bowl

 

Wanting to change things up however still remain familiar, our stir-fry dinner became something of a combination of ingredients and leftovers. Tofu was panfried and then cooked in a rich hoisin sauce, noodles were cooked and panfried, leftover rice was transformed into sticky soy rice, slices of fresh green onion and cucumber, delicately diced mini peppers, handful of crisp lettuce, a few prepackaged spring rolls and a couple shakes of sesame seeds all created this enjoyable flavourful dinner.  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Stir-fry Bowl

 

Dinner may be as simple or complex as you like and at times it doesn't have to be pretty, just delicious. I do enjoy in creating quick pulled together nutritious meals and this tofu stir-fry is just that. Panfrying the tofu and then sautéing it in a sticky sauce, add some grated carrots and sautéed kale in sesame oil with a dash of rice vinegar, topped with a hard boiled egg and served in a bowl with with rice that's sprinkled with chopped green onions and dried shredded coconut. Delicious!    

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Stirfry

 

Sometimes leftovers become lunch and whatever one can forage around to create the occasional a midday meal. No foraging here, although if there wasn't any leftover rice then the tofu stirfry would be added to mixed greens or draped across a piece of toast. At times it is the simple things that keep us going and the ability to not waste a morsel. Leftovers, at the best of times, can truly become something so unique you can not wait until the next round leftovers appear.  

Have a nice weekend and stay safe everyone! - JD 

Tofu Vegetable Curry

Here is a delicious weekday meal that is quick and easy. You can simply interchange with fresh vegetables however frozen vegetables saves one just a bit of time. 

Tofu Vegetable Curry 

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1 to 2 packages of firm tofu, cut into cubes*

1 can coconut milk 

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 package (500g) frozen mixed vegetables

 freshly grated lime zest

Grate the rind of 1 lime into a small bowl. Set aside. 

In a large bowl combine the coconut milk, lime juice, curry powder and sesame oil. Stir. Set aside.

In a large nonstick frypan or wok, heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the cubes tofu, turning the cubes often, cook for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown all over.

Turn the heat up to high and add the frozen mixed stir-fry vegetables, stir and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through. Add the coconut milk mixture and allow to simmer to a boil. Once boiled, turn the heat down to medium and continue to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the grated lime zest, stir, and serve over brown rice. 

*To remove the excess moisture from the tofu, press tofu between kitchen towels/paper towels or clean pieces of cloth. 

Notes: you can stir a handful of cashews before serving.   

Stay warm! - JD 

The Soy Gourmet

The other day I posted about our vegan/vegetarian dinner we had. The main was marinated tofu burgers and the recipe was from this cookbook, The Soy Gourmet. The author, a chef, wanted to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Cutting down on the high fat, high cholesterol foods when working in a professional kitchen. She became a vegetarian and eliminated meat and diary products. She wanted to recreate those skilled dishes and not give up on taste, flavour, and texture. Developing cooking techniques and menu ideas with that in mind while using natural meatless and dairy free ingredients. Hence the cookbook. 

Not all of us are trained chefs. Most of our skills we learn from family, friends, and trial  and error. Regardless what your kitchen know how level is or you are wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle this cookbook offers delicious recipes that are worth a try and that many may master. The baked marinated tofu was easy and very delicious and became the base for the tofu burgers.

Baked Marinated Tofu
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1/3 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup low sodium tamari 
2 teaspoons sugar (or natural sweetener)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound firm tofu, cut into 1/2 -inch-thick slices

Combine all the ingredients, except the tofu, in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Place the tofu in a shallow baking dish. Pour the marinade over the top. Allow the tofu to marinate 30 minutes or more, turning once.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees. Bake the tofu in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the slices over and bake 10 minutes longer. Remove the tofu from the marinade with a slotted spatula to serve. 

Serves 4.

Notes: I used vegetable oil instead of the safflower oil. I crushed the garlic and added a bit more then stated. I decided to use 2 packages of extra firm tofu instead. The tofu was sliced in half and then those halves slices again to make 2 square blocks. Even though the recipes states it serves 4; I was able to marinate 8 square pieces of tofu, as you can see from the above photo. 

The end result. Delicious and very much enjoyed by everyone!  

Enjoy!  - JD 

Honey Garlic Sauce

After standing in the aisle at the grocery store reading the label on a bottle of honey garlic sauce, I decided to make my own sauce, considering I had most of the ingredients, except the garlic, at home. I thought it should be a pretty straight forward sauce probably without much fussing. So I ditched the convenience and headed to the cookbooks instead.   

Honey Garlic Sauce

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1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 white vinegar

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Line a baking tray or baking pan with aluminium foil or parchment paper. 

In a large bowl combine the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, and salt.

Stir until the honey and sugar are dissolved. Once dissolved stir in the baking soda.  

The mixture will foam... or froth up like a science experiment. This part reminds me of when you make cinder toffee.  

Place the pork chops in the bowl, one at a time if you like, turning to coat both sides. 

Place the pork chops on the prepared baking pan and spoon over with the remaining sauce.

I guess when I said spoon over I really meant smoother with the remaining sauce.  

Place the baking pan with the generously coated pork chops in the oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until meat is cooked all the way through. Covering the top of the pan half way through the cooking time. 

Notes: This sauce would be great over ribs, chicken, tofu, kebabs, and beef. I lined my pan, to hopefully save on mess, although most of the sticky sauce went underneath the aluminium foil. Next time I might try a baking sheet/tray. Before covering half way through the cooking time you could spoon the sauce from the baking pan over top of the pork chops, like what you do when basting a turkey.