Recipe for spicy crispy tofu stir fry
This dish was the first dish I made with tofu, and hal-le-lu-jah, it went straight onto the list of things I could live on. If you love flavorful food with crunchy elements, soft surprises, and a good kick of chili, then look no further! This spicy crispy tofu stir fry is quick and easy to make, and it’s a solid 10 on the yummy scale.
Warning: Pretty addictive.
To be completely honest, I was terrified of that tofu stuff until I started eating mostly vegetarian and reached out to my friend, who has been a vegetarian for nearly 400 years. I don’t know if her ethos persuaded me, or if it truly was Game Changers (let’s be honest here, that’s why I and hundreds of others are semi-vegetarian now). But in any case, I threw myself into this dish, and now I always recommend it to other tofu-haters. In my view, it’s a great place to start introducing some tofu love, but if you prefer chicken or something else, you can just swap it out, right?
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- 250 gram noodles
- 1.5 pcs. Bell Pepper
- 1 pcs. Carrots
- 0.5 pcs. Onion
- 250 gram Tofu can be replaced with another product: vegan or meat
- 3 pcs. Lime Leaves
- Olive Oil for the frying
Spicy Sauce
- 16 gram Soy Sauce dark - can be replaced with regular soy sauce
- 48 gram Soy Sauce
- 21 gram Honey
- 7.5 gram Hot Sauce
- 150 gram Water
- 0.5 pcs. Lemon juice and zest
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 6 gram Ginger
- 0.5 pcs. Chili habanero or other chili - to taste
- 8 gram Cornstarch
Instructions
- Set water to boil for the noodles. Cut and prepare all the vegetables. I prefer them in thin strips, both onions, carrots, and bell peppers. Fry them in a pan with a bit of olive oil over medium heat along with the three lime leaves. Season with salt or soy sauce. When they have softened a bit but still have some bite, remove them from the pan and set them aside for later. Remember your water, and now add plenty of salt as you usually would when boiling pasta, and cook your noodles according to the instructions on the package. When they are done, set them aside as well, so they are ready for later. It doesn't matter if they get a bit cold.
- Now cut the tofu into suitable chunks. I use a seitan tofu, which I find delicious in texture, but you can use any firm tofu for this task. Use the same pan that you used for the bell peppers and toss up with a bit of extra olive oil. Fry them over medium heat. Meanwhile, get started on your holy spirit spicy sauce - the element that ties the whole dish together. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, hot sauce, water, lemon juice, and zest to a thick-bottomed pot, then turn up the heat to semi-high. Push your garlic through a press or chop them finely. Chop your ginger and chili - and keep your fingers away from your little eyes. Throw them into the pot and turn up the heat until it smells amazing-grace! After it has boiled for about two minutes, take a couple of tablespoons of the sauce and add to the pan where your tofu is getting crispy on all sides. Then add a tablespoon of cornstarch to the sauce in the pot, turn the heat down, and wait until it has a lovely flowing semi-thick caramel consistency. Take your tofu off the pan and instead throw your noodles and vegetables back into the pan and add your spicy sauce. Make sure everything is sauced up and arrange. Top with tofu and optionally fresh chili.
- Bon appétit.
