Tofu Stir Fry

Mise en plas.

That's the secret to eating your veggies when stir-frying. The idea is to prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. Notice how recipes say "1 onion - diced" rather than saying "1 onion" and then step 1 is to dice your onion? It's because you're supposed to be ready to go before the stove is turned on. And if all your ingredients are chopped and neatly prepped in their respective bowls awaiting their orderly turn to enter the wok, you'll be able to quickly tell that your rainbow of vegetables is rather white. With my herbs standing only 1/16" tall in my windowsill garden, I couldn't even have the final splash of greens to the finished product.

Here's a delicious (even if rather white), oil free, gluten free, vegan stir fry:

Tofu with Rice Noodles and a Splash of Color

Marinade:

2 T gluten free soy sauce (I use San-J)

1 T brown sugar

1/2 t (or more to taste) Bragg's Liquid Aminos

2 cloves garlic, minced

Other ingredients:

1 package of extra firm tofu

2 bell peppers, diced

2 shallots, sliced

Pam cooking spray

1/2 T grated ginger

Rice flour noodles

Cut the tofu into equal sized cubes. Place in a medium sized non-metal bowl.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over the tofu. Marinate in the fridge for about half an hour.

Prepare rice flour noodles according to the directions.

Heat the wok. Spray with cooking spray. Add the bell peppers. Cook for 3 minutes while stirring. Add the shallots while stirring. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add the ginger, tofu, and drained rice noodles while (you guessed it) stirring until everything is evenly heated. Serve!

For more ideas of how to maximize tofu, check out some of the dishes my friends and I created during our vegetarian and tree nut/dairy/gluten free dinner party when I was fully introduced to the chameleon qualities of tofu!

Here's a kitchen tool that normally doesn't get a lot of mention: my bamboo spoons. Aside from the eco-friendly, green-ness of the product, they are super cheap. When I went gluten free, I got rid of two things in my kitchen: my toaster and my wooden spoons. Since wooden spoons are often used for things like wheat pasta, gluten is allegedly absorbed in the cracks. Um, no thank you. I recently bought a set of three spoons and since I live with a completely gluten free kitchen, I have no worries of cross-contamination. Meanwhile, my family knows to switch to the plastic spoon whenever cooking something I will eat while at their house. Wooden cutting boards are off limits. Being gluten intolerant means I have to pay attention to not only the food, but the utensils used to create it! Stir frying with bamboo spoons is so easy! These spoons remain in perfect condition after I'm done, unlike my plastic spoons which tend to chip away during the stir fry process! Gross!