mulberryshoots

Today, our nephew visited to help G. with a piano move and draining the gas tank of the snowblower in anticipation of the storm we’re supposed to have on Friday.

Casey is a gentle soul, fresh out of college, and always eager to help out. He’s also taken up vegetarian eating and especially loves a tofu-stir fry that I make for him occasionally when he’s here at lunch time. Today, he asked me to write out the recipe which I did, emphasizing that the success is due to cooking everything separately, then combining the cooked ingredients right before serving.

Most of the ingredients are readily available at Trader Joe’s, especially the teriyaki pressed tofu that is essential to the dish. I also put together a box of thin spaghetti, two packs of tofu, some bokchoy and snow peas plus scallions and ginger root for him to take with him. I think he’s planning to make it tonight for supper with his folks.

Here’s the recipe:   Teriyaki Tofu Noodle Stir Fry Recipe for Casey

INGREDIENTS (at Trader Joe’s)

1. teriyaki tofu (comes spicy or bland) – keeps well in fridge
2. snow peas or sugar snap peas
3. napa cabbage or bok choy (they have miniature bok choy)
4. thin spaghetti  or rice noodles
5. fresh edamame (if using)
6. fresh garlic, fresh ginger root and scallions

COOKING STEPS: this dish calls for cooking the components separately and then combining them when ready to serve

1. Rinse and slice up 2 scallions on the diagonal (greens and whites)
2. Peel ginger root and slice up 3-4 thin pieces, then slice them into thin strips
3. Peel and crush 2 cloves of garlic and mince them up

HOLD these on the side and use for each cooking step that it’s called for.

4.  Boil the thin spaghetti and rinse so it doesn’t stick together – hold drained noodles in a bowl.

5. Cut teriyaki tofu into strips the size that you want; heat some oil to medium high in a skillet and let them crisp up with a couple of drops of soy sauce and a little sesame oil. – set aside.

6. Clean the tofu skillet out and add a little oil. Rinse the cabbage and slice it up; take the strings off the snow peas if using and cut them on the diagonal; or use snap peas.

a.  In a medium high skillet, heat the oil and add scallions, garlic and ginger. Then saute the vegetables quickly so that they’re cooked through but not wilted. – set aside.

7. Now you’ll have a) tofu that’s been crisped up; b) noodles that are cooked; and c) vegetables that are cooked.

8. Clean the skillet and dry it – heat some fresh oil in the bottom of the skillet. Put in the remaining scallions, ginger and garlic and let it cook so it’s aromatic. Add the drained noodles and stir them around – add a little soy sauce to taste. When the noodles are mixed well with the ginger, scallions and garlic and soy, add the drained vegetables and stir well with the noodles.

9. When ready to serve, plate the noodle/veggies and then add the teriyaki tofu on top.

Footnote: it’s also tasty and easy to add or substitute some of these choices to the recipe above: broccoli florets, baby spinach, napa cabbage, rice noodles, fresh wonton noodles, angel hair pasta and bamboo shoots. If you’re not a vegetarian, you could also add a dollop of oyster sauce to the teriyaki tofu, shrimp or cut up teriyaki marinated chicken.

ENJOY!!