Learning new tricks to cook up Tofu-Stir Fry when you are a busy mum

Sorry for the sudden absence. We just moved into our first home here in the UK and things didn’t work out very smoothly for us to get Internet. Plus it was also very difficult to get all that I needed to get done with a small baby. Funny how life has so quickly changed, things take so much longer to get done now. For example I put together an Ikea dresser, pre-baby this would have taken tops an hour, today it took three and a half hours. But no matter how crazy it is with a baby life presses on and it is up to us to find a way to keep going. I will be the first to admit that it has been a lot harder to get back into cooking then I had hoped it would be. So I have had to come up with little tricks to make things easier. One of those tricks is using times during the day that she is napping to do any prep work. For this Tofu Stir-fry I went ahead and prepped my tofu, veggies and even my sauce during the two short nap breaks I got one after lunch and the other one later on in the afternoon. Then when it was time for dinner I was able to just saute it all together. Now if I could just master the trick of getting my daughter to not be fussy at dinner time so I can eat it when it is hot, oh well re-heated dinner is also apart of a mum's life.

Tofu Stir-Fry
1/2 c. Vegetable broth
1/4c. dry sherry

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 c. onion, diced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced

1 c. carrots, thinly sliced

3 c. broccoli florets
1 c. snow peas

1 c. red pepper, julienne sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes

1/2 c. cornstarch

1 egg beaten

Sonoma Cookbook

 

Press excess water from tofu and then drop tofu, roll tofu in egg and then dip in cornstarch.

In a deep skillet heat about ½ inch deep of canola oil, when oil is hot carefully place the tofu in the pan and fry until light brown on both sides. Set aside.

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and coat pan. Allow oil to get hot for about 1 minute and then add your mushrooms. Saute mushrooms until golden brown. Remember to allow not stir mushrooms too much, they need to sit untouched in order to retain their heat and get that golden colour.

Coat an unheated wok or large skillet with olive oil. Pre-heat over medium-high heat, then add carrots and garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add broccoli, onion, snow peas and red pepper and stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

In a small container mix together broth, sherry, soy sauce, ginger, cornstarch and red pepper flakes. Pour over vegetable mixture and cook until thickened and bubbly.

Add tofu and stir until coated, cook for 1 minute more.

Serve over rice or noodles.