Feeding Friendship: Tofu Stir-Fry

This edition of Feeding Friendship features ginger! 


I have cooked with ginger root in the past so my first thought was, "Great! What have I cooked with ginger root?" and I could think of nothing! I'm sure it was in some Asian-inspired dish, though. So I decided to incorporate it into my own stir-fry concoction that I make periodically. 


Here's how to do it:


Ingredients:
2     tbs low-sodium soy sauce
1.5  tbs Sriracha (rooster sauce!) - You can adjust for how spicy you want. This makes it "medium."
1     tbs fish sauce
1     tbs brown sugar
1     tbs peeled and roughly chopped ginger root
1     package tofu (I believe it's a pound), sliced to your preferred dimensions
1     tbs canola oil
3     cloves of garlic
1     leek, thinly sliced
3     carrots, chopped
1     can baby corn (in salt water, NOT marinated)
1     small can water chestnuts
1     small can bamboo shoots
cooking spray
1     cup chopped green onions (green bits, optional)
sesame seeds (optional)
chopped chashews (optional)


Instructions:


(If you'd like rice or noodles with this, you may want to plan accordingly before getting started. I almost always serve this with rice.)


Combine the soy sauce through the ginger root and mix well. 

Add tofu and coat completely. You can do this a few hours before or simply let it marinade while you're prepping the other items. Tofu takes on the flavor pretty easily.


Heat canola oil in a large pan with high sides. 


After the tofu has marinated for a while, coat another pan with cooking spray and add the tofu, reserve the marinade. Saute until tofu is browned to a degree you find satisfying.


While tofu is cooking, add leeks, garlic and carrots to the pan with canola oil. Saute for about 3-5 minutes. Add corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots.

Add tofu when it is ready. At this point, also add the marinade. I recommend removing the ginger before pouring the marinade in. However, you can cook the ginger with the other veggies and tofu, too. To be honest I left mine in completely, but ended up picking it out later. It's too strong to eat.

Once everything is cooked to your satisfaction, remove from heat, add green onions/sesame seeds/cashews and serve over rice or noodles!

Using the "beginner" (spring-loaded) chopsticks my mom gave us!

The best part of this recipe is you can add/subtract whatever veggies you'd like! I don't always use bamboo shoots and water chestnust, but they seemed authentic. Sometimes I throw baby spinach or snap peas in there. If you've got some veggies you need to use up, here's your chance! 


Bonus: I made these "Starbucks" Pumpkin Spice Scones and they're, at the very least, one of the top 3 things I've ever made. Seriously. I was SO proud of myself. They have ginger powder in them, so they fit with this Feeding Friendship. They would have even fit with the pumpkin round! If you have holiday company coming to visit, make these for the. Do it. They'll think you're Martha Frickin' Stewart! They're not hard, I promise! 

Really, how can you say no?