Recipe - Tofu and Vegetable Stir-fry

Tofu and Vegetable Stir-fry

Serves two

Stir-fry with tofu, red bell pepper, courgette, onion, garlic, mushroom
and seaweed, served with leafy salad

Tofu and vegetable stir-fry is one of my favourite meals. Being a student, I find it’s great as it’s fairly affordable, easy and quick to make, nutritious, and tasty.

There are so many things you can include in the stir-fry. Pick around four or five of vegetable ingredients, or substitute in your own preferred ones. 

Roughly 260g firm tofu, cut into small chunks

1 onion, diced

Garlic to taste (I use around 4 cloves), crushed or sliced

1 courgette, diced

1 bell pepper, diced or sliced

3-6 mushrooms, diced or sliced,

1 medium to large carrot, thinly sliced or grated

½ small to medium red cabbage, chopped or sliced

4-6 cherry tomatoes, diced

A couple of handfuls of rice noodles (if using)

Seasonings as preferred, e.g. paprika, chilli powder, mixed herbs, salt, pepper, etc.

Heat up some oil (e.g. olive oil) in a large frying pan or wok on a medium-low heat. Once the oil is warm, add the tofu. Stir and turn the tofu over regularly.

After a few minutes, add the onion and garlic. Keep stirring. Once the onion has started to soften, add the bell pepper / carrot / red cabbage. Keep stirring. As these soften, add the courgette / mushrooms / tomatoes – keep stirring! Add your preferred seasoning.

After a few minutes of cooking (still on a medium-low heat), when everything should be about cooked through, add the rice noodles (if using), and keep on the heat till the noodles are cooked (the packet should say how long they need). Serve with a mixed salad, for example rocket and spinach.

Variations…

·        Seaweed works well with tofu stir-fry, too, and is a good source of iodine. Cook according to instructions on the packaging.

·        If preferred, marinade the tofu in a sauce (e.g. chilli sauce) for around half an hour before you begin cooking.

·        You can, of course, make this without the tofu and have it as a vegetable stir-fry instead.

·        I sometimes don’t bother with rice noodles, as it still does taste really nice without them!