necessity is the mother of invention {& that's why we're here, friends} we dance to the music, we play in the kitchen & sometimes that means one of us breaks the wine glasses {we're not saying who} the cook is a cubicle-warmer/learning & development specialist by day, & a writer/photographer/kitchen goddess by night who has fun inventing healthy things she can actually eat we seriously both need capes & a kick-ass theme song & the baker is a catering delivery superhero; no job too big or too early or too floral not to come home & make magic with a mixer & an oven we are always gluten-free, dairy-free, & magically delicious now, somebody turn up the music! we're about to get our dance on!

17 April 2008

spicy kick-ass stir-fry with tofu

Seriously. Who doesn't love a good stir-fry?

The great thing about stir-fry is that you really don't need a specific ingredients list; add whatever veggies and flavors you like. This creation came into being when I needed to go through some fresh veggies that were about to spoil and to use up some of those frozen ones, too. I kept adding and adding stuff that looked good.

And it was pretty stinking tasty. Check it out.



Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil
Red curry paste
White rice vinegar
Sea salt
Firm tofu (1 package), cut into cubes
Green beans
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
½ yellow onion, chopped
Slivered almonds
Shredded carrot
1 package frozen Asian-style veggies
Edamame (frozen, approx 1 c.)

What else you’ll need
Cookie sheet
Kitchen knife
Two skillets (1 small, 1 large)

Directions
After opening the package of tofu, drain liquid and cut into cubes.
Spread out on cookie sheet and put in 350 oven for about 20 minutes
Check about halfway through and turn tofu to ensure it bakes evenly.

In a large skillet, heat up olive oil on medium-high heat.
Add veggies and almonds
Add about 1 tsp. red curry paste and a few good splashes of rice vinegar.
Add salt (to taste).
Stir frequently.
Reduce heat to low while vegetables are still firm (boo-hiss to mushy stirfry!!)

In a separate skillet, heat up olive oil on high heat. Add red curry paste (about 1 tsp) and a few splashes of rice vinegar.
Remove tofu from oven and place in hot skillet.
Add salt (to taste).
Stir frequently, cooking until tofu is golden and crispy on the outside.



Add tofu to vegetable mixture and stir.

Take a deep whiff of your delightful dish. Get a good look at your beautiful food. Now stop staring & eat it!!

2 comments:

Sarah said...

So, where does a girl buy such things as curry paste? I know I'll have different stores here, but is it a Whole Foods sort of thing or a "it's in the supermarket but I never saw it because I don't know where to look" sort of thing? Any ideas?

kirsten said...

you can generally find a little jar of red curry paste for around $3 or so in any asian section at the grocery store (right along with the peanut sauce, rice noodles, coconut milk, etc.). i imagine that a place like whole foods would have something like that. it's a fairly common ingredient in asian cooking, so hopefully you can find it fairly easily.

one of the more common brands is thai kitchen. here's an image so you have an idea of what you'd be looking for:
http://www.worldpantry.com/thaikitchen/img/thumb/thk-003006.gif