Crispy Tofu Basil Stir Fry

Hi! I am a little late getting my Monday blog out since I had a bit of a last-minute change of plans. Coco and I were home for the weekend, and had planned to be in Seattle until Tuesday night- but we had a change of plans and instead drove up early this AM, pre-rush hour morning traffic. So now we are on set somewhere very rural in British Columbia!! Funny what a difference a few hours make!

But we will be home by the time it’s dinner time, and I will even have time for a quick trip to the grocery store- which means, 14 hours after starting my day- EASY and FAST is priority!!! That is where this awesome Crispy Tofu Basil Stir Fry comes into the picture. I love how much flavor there is, and I appreciate that baking the tofu can create a lovely golden crust without having to fry it in a ton of oil. And that can happen in the time it takes to prepare the rest of the ingredients and make the sauce- so everything comes together easily and pretty much all at once.

The tofu is the star, but I do also add a generous amount of red peppers (or yellow, or orange!) quite a bit of fresh basil leaves and some toasted crunchy cashews for good measure. While this felt like a winning (and simple) combination for me- you could most definitely bulk up this stirfry if you wanted to. I would add asparagus or broccoli- but even button mushrooms or brussels sprouts would be a great addition!

Then I am making a date with Coco, the couch and Netflix. Any recommendations on a show that Coco and I can binge together? Not actually just Netflix- we also have Amazon prime and Apple and On-Demand- we are not picky!!

Crispy Tofu Basil Stir Fry

Author: Heather Christo

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Crispy Tofu:
14 ounces organic firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Stir Fry Sauce:
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
2 tablespoons agave
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons cashew butter
2 tablespoons hot water
Stir Fry:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
1 packed cup of fresh basil leaves
¼ cup toasted cashews
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Toasted sesame seeds
Steamed Jasmine Rice for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When you are done slicing the tofu into bite sized cubes, make sure you pat them dry on paper towels and get them as dry as possible. Sprinkle them with kosher salt and toss them with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread them out on a sheet pan fitted with a silpat or parchment paper.
Bake the tofu until crispy and golden, about 20 minutes- flip half way through to brown the tofu evenly.
While the tofu is baking to golden, prepare the vegetables and make the stirfry sauce. In the jar of a blender, combine the garlic, ginger, tamari, agave, rice vinegar and cashew butter. Puree until smooth and add the hot water to make the sauce more fluid.
In a heavy pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the red peppers and jalapeno and lightly saute for a few minutes and then add the crispy tofu fresh from the oven. Add the sauce and saute for an extra minute. Add the cashews, green onions and fresh basil and toss everything until well combined and hot. Adjust seasoning if needed and then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve hot over steamed rice.

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