Stir This Way, Really Fast, And If Something Gets In Your Way, Fry

I love vegetables. Not all of them, but nearly all. I try to eat my daily allowance, but I know that does not always happen. David and I were talking about dinner and that we wanted to eat something lighter than we had and also delicious. Stir fry is a great way to do both of these things. It is also a great weeknight meal as it does not take very much time. I have used hoisin sauce in the past, mixed with some other things, but this time I took a simple approach using broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, and some cornstarch for thickening. I don't have a wok, but get by alright with my big skillet.The great thing about stir fry is that it is very adaptable to what you have. Use whatever veggies sound tasty to you. The different oils are also optional, I just happen to have them in the cupboard. I also decided to use tofu for this to have some nice protein. I personally prefer a meat free stir fry. But whatever tickles your fancy. David would say the best thing about stir fry is as a vehicle for soy sauce.

Weekday Stir Fry

canola oil or other high smoke point oil
sesame oil
chili oil
half of small red cabbage, cut into small pieces
small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
5 crimini mushrooms, sliced
white onion, sliced into large wedges
1 block firm or extra firm tofu
ginger, I used about a tablespoon of minced
garlic, I used about a tablespoon of minced
1 cup chicken broth, I used 1 tsp. Better Than Bouillon with one cup of water (can use veggie broth if you want to keep it purely vegetarian)
couple tablespoons of soy sauce
tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
squirt of sriacha
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tablespoons corn starch
Rice or noodles, I used white rice

I first drained my tofu and put it in a tea towel under a heavy pot. I let it sit like that for about 30 minutes while I soaked my rice.

Start cooking your rice.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high to high heat. Add a bit of all three oils. Not too much of the sesame oil because that is really strong. Cut tofu into chunks. Sprinkle with some soy sauce and black pepper. Pan fry half of tofu at a time until sides are golden brown. Remove to a plate. I cut my veggies while the tofu was cooking.


Let pan heat back up and add a tiny bit more oil. Choose one of your vegetables and cook, stirring pretty much constantly. You want to get a little color but keep your veggies from getting mushy. Do this one veggie at a time, removing them to a plate as they are cooked and making sure the pan gets hot in between each one.


Mix all ingredients for sauce together well. To hot pan add a bit more oil and cook the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it does not burn. Add sauce and wisk around constantly until thickened and glossy looking. Taste and see if you need anything in it. Once it is thickened, add the tofu and veggies back and stir well to coat. Heat everything up and then serve over rice.