Kitchen Sink Stir Fry

Every other Tuesday, I get a produce box full of organic goodies from a local CSA called Full Circle Farm. It’s a real treat that I look forward to. I like supporting a local farm, and love the convenience of having a variety of veggies delivered to our front door. From FCF, I have learned about delicata squash, romanesco broccoli, blue potatoes, purple carrots, kale, chard, and the list goes on and on and on. Bottom line: yay, CSA!

But, this week, due to the snow and ice in the Seattle area, my produce box has been delayed. I was sad to open the front door and not see my new box of goodies Tuesday morning, but completely understand the delay. After two weeks with very little produce replenishment, my selection was pretty weak, which left a bit of a head-scratcher for this week’s Test Kitchen.

However, I remembered I had a block of tofu in the fridge, and could probably throw together a “little bit of this/little bit of that” to put together a stir fry. I should also note, as a random, yet relevant side note, I have been doing a little experiment lately that I dubbed “No Meat November.” Basically, I have been using the month of November to try out an exclusively plant-based diet. While I am generally not into processed soy foods, every-so-often tofu seems okay to me.

Here’s where I netted out with ingredients for dinner:

• 1 block of firm tofu
• 1 stalk of broccoli
• A handful of sugar snap peas
• 1 zucchini squash
• 1/2 a sweet onion
• 1 green bell pepper

Surely I could turn that into something, right? Right! Sadly, I do not have a photo of the actual end result. To be honest, it wasn’t that pretty.

Kitchen Sink Stir Fry

Original Recipe/Inspiration: I used the sauce from this recipe, but the stir fry was sort of “winged.”

Downloadable Word Document Recipe

Time Required:

• 10 minutes to prepare veggies
• 20 minutes to cook stir fry

Skill Level: 

2Chili’s Taster Rating: 

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• Assorted veggies of your choice. I used:
  • 1 stalk of broccoli
  • A handful of sugar snap peas
  • 1 zucchini squash
  • 1/2 a sweet onion
  • 1 green bell pepper
• 1 block of drained and pressed extra firm tofu
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Method:

• Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
• Wash and chop veggies you will be using
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat, and add onions; Sauté for 1-2 minutes
• Add tofu and sauté for 3-4 minutes until tofu is lightly browned
• Add remaining veggies and sauté 3 minutes, and then pour in sauce
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until your veggies are cooked but still firm
• Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl or measuring cup, and begin adding cornstarch mixture to stir fry, a tablespoon at a time
• Let stir fry cook for another minute or two for the sauce to thicken up
• Serve with a side of rice or bulgur wheat

Nutrition:

Based on the ingredients I added above (not including rice), one serving equals the following, according to the SparkPeople recipe calculator:

The Verdict: 2Chili ate this without complaining, but after he was done with dinner, he went straight for the breadbox and made some cinnamon toast. This usually means that the dinner wasn’t filling enough for him, but he didn’t like it enough to have seconds. So, when I asked for an honest review, he gave it three stars, and asked if we could try it in December with chicken. He liked the sauce and veggies, but wasn’t crazy about the tofu, which I didn’t drain well enough, so it was sort of moist and crumbly.  If I make this again, I’ll use extra firm tofu – so it can be easily cut into cubes instead of crumbles. Live and learn!