Spicy Tofu Stirfry

Are you tofu-phobic?  Are you tofu-phobic without ever having tried it?  Tofu is often considered one of those crazy foods that only ridiculous health nuts and vegans eat.  Um, and the entire freaking continent of Asia.  Well, almost.  But you get the idea.  It's not a bizarre food, it's not incredibly complex or unpalatable, and it's one of those things that takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with.  (An exception to this generalization is the "stinky tofu" that i tried in Hong Kong...oh gosh, that stuff is heavenly!  Charles, if you're reading this, please smuggle some stinky tofu to the states for me)

Anyways.  Let's get to the point: Tofu is not scary, and below is an Intro Level Recipe for a delicious and healthy stir fry that makes it very easy to try tofu for the first time.  Trust.

Ingredients (4 servings):
-1 block of firm tofu*
-1 green pepper
-1 onion
 -generous helping of sriracha hot sauce ("rooster sauce")
-1-2 tbsp soy sauce

Optional stuff:
-1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
-a teeny tiny pinch of nutmeg

*found in the refrigerated Asian food section of the grocery store, possibly near the sprouts


1.  This is what the tofu looks like.  I bought this at Walmart.  No big.

So what you do is cut the seal across the top.

And you drain the water!  You might also pat it dry when you take it out, but that's not necessary.

2.  Set your health brick onto a cutting board.

And cut it into cubes.  Mine are like 1" cubes. 

3.  Chop onions!

And the green peppers.  You can throw them in a bowl with the cubed tofu because those two ingredients will enter the pan together.

4.  In large saute pan, saute onions in a little vegetable oil over medium heat until they're translucent.

5.  Add green pepper and tofu cubes.  Crank up the heat to high!

6.  After a few minutes, all the tofu pieces should have gotten slightly softer and warm.  You can throw in the frozen veggies at this point. 

Now, get ready for the condiment duo:

Get this: in this month's issue of Bon Appetit magazine, one of the featured items was this very sriracha sauce.  Professional chefs use it to flavor all kinds of things.  Who knew?  I was happy i actually owned something that was featured in such an illustrious mag.

Okay, so now add the sriracha hot sauce, according to this table:

• 2 tbsp = weakling
• 3 tbsp = decent spicy stamina
• 4+ tbsp = yes! 
  

Give it a good splash with the soy sauce too.

7.  Okay, this might be a little weird, but take just the tiniest pinch of nutmeg and sprinkle it into the pan.  Something about the depth of nutmeg helps bring out the flavors more. 

Now you're ready to remove it from heat.  Mmm.

Look at that!

What a fabulous dish!  So healthy--tofu is packed full of protein, which keeps you full like you ate a steak.  You know?
 

This is a very easy meal that came together in about 15 minutes, and it's a hearty meal that can feed a family of four.  Or four good meals for a grad student living alone.  Math is cool. 

Just serve this baby over a bed of hot rice, and you have everything you need (protein, veggies, and carbs) all in one dish.  That's the way to do it, folks.  See, the tofu doesn't look so scary anymore, does it? 

Try this super easy recipe today!

For a printable version of this recipe, please click here.