I’ve been posting a lot of meat dishes lately, writing about meat, even declaring my love of meat in my last post. That said, I’m taking a break from meat. This is simple and delicious vegetarian dish (if you use vegetable stock), and served with steamed rice, is a meal in and of itself. It’s not too spicy (depending on the chili garnish you use), give it a try tonight!
14 oz extra firm tofu
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp plus 2 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp peeled and finely grated or chopped ginger
5 Tbsp vegetable or chicken stock
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely grated or chopped
8 oz oyster mushrooms, tough bases removed, cut into 1-inch chunks
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced into 1-inch chunks
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
1 hot red pepper (about 3 inches long), seeded and cut into very fine julienne slices
Drain tofu block and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes in between paper towels and let drain further for about 15 minutes.
Place tofu in a shallow dish. Whisk together sesame oil, 2 tsp soy sauce, ground black pepper and ginger in a small bowl. Add to tofu and toss until tofu is well-coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 30 minutes.
Whisk together stock, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and tofu, and gently mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with a couple additional sprinkles of soy sauce, if desired. Remove from heat and place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced green onions and red pepper (add more red pepper, if desired). Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as part of a Thai meal with other dishes.
This recipe is a great example of vegetables with plenty of flavour. It’s hard for me to get as excited about vegetable dishes as I do with meat dishes. Even though when I’m eating vegetarian dishes, I’m just has happy. Why is that?
Can’t agree with you more. It always seems as if something’s missing if there’s no meat in it. However, I always enjoy a veggie dish, with lots of flavor.
Not much of a Tofu eater myself, but the flavors here seems to make it work. Though I guess I’d still add some chicken breast to it all… 🙂
Hi Ronit. Always great to hear from you! I would probably do the same usually (and it would be chicken). Though after having the leftovers tonight, I think it was great without the meat. I was never a great fan of tofu, but I’ve learned to really like it. I usually fry it until golden brown in a bit of oil before adding it adding it to vegetables (or whatever).
My hubby will be all over this!
Thanks very much, Serena. May I ask if it’s a vegetarian thing, or does he just love Thai? Just want to understand. Thanks.
We both want to eat less animal protein. I like to go the legume way and he likes that too, though he also enjoys mixing it up with a little tofu and curry. I love it too, except that I prefer to go out and eat it at a restaurant!
Got it. Pretty much the same with us.
But I love meat.
So do we!
Looks very refreshing and tasty. I welcome all kinds of tofu dishes.
(Two dents worth… a little larger photo would be give more ‘wow’ to the imagination. 😀 )
Great to hear from you, Fae! Thanks for the comment and the suggestion about the photo. I’m still trying to figure that stuff out.