Wok Tofu Stir-Fry with Sesame Oil

Hi, Everyone! I'm following a couple of tips I found on the forum, and I'll know when I view my post, if they helped me with my blogger problem. Update: Okay, I've just previewed my post, not published, and it looks okay. I've done everything in html. Apparently, viewing it in Compose loses all my coding. The problem is, and I'll deal with it, that now I have to enter in coding in html. I can't find an html code for underlining, so my recipe titles will be bolded until further notice. Next, I'll see how it publishes - I guess we all will. :-)

So, I don't normally go into a lot of detail about what's going on with me personally - I usually just stick with the food. But, I've got a running theme here at home that I thought might be of interest to you. We've set up a small infirmary in the living room for all the human patients. Hmm, where to start? Well, let's start with the four-legged creatures. Now, the pups aren't sick, but they are currently getting all their vaccines and preventative shots. No big deal. Then, you add in Sparkly, the cranky kitty, who is currently wearing a cone almost full-time due to a chronic ear infection and needs meds throughout the day to knock it out. In January, SR was pushed into a door by a bully that's been harassing her for over a year and a half. She's had two casts and is now wearing a brace indefinitely on her arm until her problem is resolved. We don't know what exactly is going on with her: she could have a torn cartilage, a wrist fracture, nerve damage, or just a "general pain experience" as her physical therapist suggested (until we know more, that is). On Thursday, G tried to mow the lawn, but mowed his big toe instead. We were in the ER on Thursday and two hospitals on Friday. He's lost some of the top of his toe, the front of his toe, his toe is broken, and the bone is exposed. He likes to say he's not going to be a foot model anymore, and he also likes to say that he got a pedicure from his lawnmower. But, seriously, the guy's in major pain. He's on pain meds and antibiotics, and I've got him on an antibiotic-resistant probiotic, an herb for crushed toes, and an herb for nerve damage. And, finally, yesterday JK got the flu. My little guy has been expunging out of both ends, and can't even keep water down. That leaves GR and me and our kitty, Charlene, left. Help?

So, can you believe I still find time to cook? Well, this was actually made before the toe incident; I've been taking it easy on the meals the last few days. I'm sure everyone has done stir-frys (is that the plural?), so I'm probably not offering a bunch of new ideas. I just have a tip for doing it in the wok. Woks are not meant to contain bunches of food at one time. So, if you have a large family, or if you're making a particularly large stir-fry, do it in batches. In my directions below, I outline how I did mine, and I hope this helps you. I actually took pictures of my method for making tofu triangles, due to many requests, but they didn't turn out, so I will try again in a later post.





Wok Tofu Stir-Fry with Sesame Oil

Ingredients:

Sesame Oil
2 pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained and cut in triangles
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in half width-wise and cut into strips
1/4 head cauliflower, chopped
2 stalks of broccoli with florets - stalks sliced thinly, and florets chopped
1/4 head of Napa cabbage, sliced width-wise and sliced thinly
6 asparagus spears, sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of water
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced

Directions:

Have all your tofu and veggies chopped and sliced before you begin. Heat about a tablespoon in the wok over medium-high heat. After about a minute, test the heat with a piece of tofu. When oil is ready and simmers the tofu, add a quarter of the tofu (or 1/2 a block) to the wok. Cook for about three minutes, stirring fairly frequently, until tofu has browned. Remove to a large bowl. Add a little bit more oil to the wok and another quarter of the tofu and do the same thing as with the first batch of tofu. Cook the rest of the tofu in this manner. *[Next, you are going to cook the veggies in order from firmest to softest, or longest-cooking to quickest-cooking. You will add a bit of oil to each addition, as there won't be any oil left in the wok. The exception will be if you have a non-stick wok. I do not, so my food will burn. I have tried cooking with water in a wok, but that definitely did not turn out well. If you find that there is oil left on your food, drain on paper towels.]* Add the cauliflower and cook for about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the bell pepper and broccoli to the cauliflower and cook for another three minutes, again stirring frequently. Remove to bowl with the tofu. Add a bit of oil to the wok and add the cabbage and asparagus. Cook for three minutes and stir. Add all the tofu and veggies back into the wok. Whisk together the soy sauce, water, corn starch and ginger. Pour over the wok goodies and stir constantly for about one minute, until it's slightly thickened. Serve over brown rice. Mm-mmm. Feeds five hungry vegans.