I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!
Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir?Fry
I prefer using thin asparagus for this stir-fry, because it cooks quickly and doesn’t require paring. If all you have are thick spears, be sure to pare them near the bottom. (This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes © 2008.) Leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re not a heat-seeking vegan like myself.
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium?high heat. Add the asparagus and stir?fry for 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, add the tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the asparagus to the skillet along with the red pepper flakes and stir?fry until the asparagus is just tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir?fry a minute longer, or until hot.
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Just making sure you saw that Oprah is doing a 21-Day Vegan Cleanse!Chef Tal Ronnen put together a bunch of recipes using vegan products, like Earth Balance.You can check out her whole program & the recipes here:http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/recipes/recipes_scallopini.jhtml
Hey Kat, thanks for checking in about the Oprah Vegan Cleanse. It’s very exciting, isn’t it? Check out my May 27 blog post about it. Let’s hope lots of people go vegan from this amazing exposure.
It sounds very good I love tofu, I have to try your recipe, Thanks for sharing
I hope you enjoy the recipe Francesca. It’s also good made with blanched (lightly steamed) broccoli or green beans, if you don’t have asparagus handy.
This looks fantastic. So happy I came across your blog! Looking forward to seeing more posts from you and I invite you to check out my mostly-veg blog! dinedishdelish.blogspot.com
Hi Janel, I’m glad you found my blog, too! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the invite to visit your blog–I’ll be right over…
I made this a few weeks ago. It was AMAZING. I adored every bite of it. I just wrote about it in my blog 🙂
Sarah: it’s one of my favorites too — glad you like it. And thanks for writing about it on your blog!