When I posted about seasoning rice, I got asked what I was eating it with. Well, here’s the recipe. It’s really hard to find gluten-free vegetarian options at Chinese restaurants. Most of the times I’ve been able to eat out, it’s been fried tofu, which is lovely the first few times but after a while starts weighing you down. Some things are just better to make yourself.

I didn’t press my tofu before making this but it would probably help the texture of the tofu. You could swap in tempeh cubes, seitan, or shredded chicken. To keep it gluten-free, make sure to use a wheat-free soy sauce.

Healthy Tofu Stir-Fry

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings)

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
• 2/3 cup bean sprouts
• 2/3 cup broccoli slaw
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar OR 3 Tablespoons liquid sweetener
• 1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce(optional)
• 2 Tablespoons cooking starch(arrowroot, tapioca, or corn) + 2 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil(optional)

Method:

1. Heat up a large frying pan over medium heat and toss in the tofu, bean sprouts, broccoli slaw, soy sauce, sweetener and sriracha. Mix thoroughly
2. Cover with a lid and let the contents steam until the vegetables are tender and the tofu has taken on a brown color, about 5-10 minutes.
3. Dissolve your cooking starch in the water and pour it into the pan. Quickly mix the contents around while the starch turns the cooking liquid into a glaze.
4. Finish with salt and sesame oil if using. Serve hot with vegetables or rice.

This goes great with seasoned rice or healthy Chinese broccoli. I wouldn’t omit the sweetener or it would taste rather bland. If you don’t use the sriracha, add about 1/2 Tablespoon of rice vinegar instead to make the flavor pop.

Let me tell you about my Veteran’s Day: I woke up at 7 to run; I went to Whole Foods before lunch which, if you think would be less crowded, you would be very very wrong; I was shocked at least twice with what’s been going on on Days Of Our Lives in my absence; and I cooked a lot. 2 out of 4 of the recipes I tried actually came out. I’m going to be happy because, if this were professional baseball, that’d be a good batting average. This was my lunch and my dinner. Why mess with a good thing? And this was really really good.

Beef Stir-Fry With Brown Sugar Glaze

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 1/2lb stir fry beef strips
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil + more to drizzle
• 3-4 tablespoons flour(or cornstarch)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Leeks for garnish

Heat the sesame oil over a medium-high burner until it comes up to temperature. In the meantime, add the flour or cornstarch sparingly to the beef until coated. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and water. Mix to dissolve the sugars.

Next, add the beef to the pan to cook. Keep stirring and tossing until all of the beef has browned.

Once the beef has browned on all sides, slowly pour in the cooking liquid. Continue to cook as the water evaporates off. Cook until the liquid forms a thick glaze that coats the beef.

Once the glaze has formed, remove the beef from the heat. Add a drizzle of sesame oil and toss to finish. Add leeks on top for an oniony flavor.

This was spicy and delicious. I needed this kitchen-win in my life to make me feel good, especially since dessert was 2(or maybe 3) very very flat cookies. Who would have thought the day would come where I could cook better than I bake? Oh well.

No complaining here.