Basil Tofu Stirfry with Noodles: Meat Free Monday

I think everyone should have a basic stir fry recipe for those evenings when you just want something healthy but super quick and easy! I admit my “go to” stir fry recipe used to be a bag of mixed stir fry veg, a jar of sauce and some straight to wok noodles; now there’s nothing wrong with this, but its much cheaper and more rewarding to be able to throw it together from scratch 🙂

When I was cooking Tofu for the month of January as part of my first monthly challenges I got a better understanding of some basic ingredients used in Asian cooking. I also bought different types of tofu, although I didn’t get a chance to blog about a few of them! One of my favourites was Taifun’s ‘Basil Tofu’ which has a very savoury basil taste to it and also it is a very firm tofu, I never felt the need to press it which makes it an even quicker recipe.

The nice thing about a stir fry as well is you can always chop and change the ingredients to whatever is handy or needs using up. There are four elements – the vegetables, the protein, the sauce and the accompaniment (eg noodles/ rice). These can all be changed around and mixed up to make stirfrys more interesting.

This is a simple stirfry recipe so feel free to add things or jazz it up to your personal taste – that’s the whole fun of this kind of meal!

Serves 2

For the stirfry sauce:

1 tblspn Runny Honey
1 tblspn Mirin
1 tblspn Light Soy Sauce
1 inch Ginger (finely chopped or grated)
1 Garlic Clove (crushed)
1 Red Chilli (Finely sliced)
1/4 – 1/2 tblspn Water

To make the stirfry sauce simply mix everything together and put to one side. Make sure everything is mixed well and that the honey is not just sat at the bottom of the bowl. Also for the first three times I made this I kept adding a lot more water because it looked like it needed it but then I regretted it when I poured it onto the vegetables and it was soggy and diluted so resist the urge!

For the Stirfry:

200g Basil tofu
Vegetables – such as peppers, courgette, onion, mushrooms, bok choi, bean sprouts, finely sliced carrot, sugar snap peas, mushrooms etc
Noodles or rice (however much you like per person)
Stirfry oil such as sesame oil for frying

Ok the first thing I’d recommend when making this is to have everything prepared before you start cooking as it will be much easier. Slice all your vegetables and put to one side on a plate or in a big bowl. Also dice the tofu and put to one side.

Put your noodles in a pan and stick your kettle on to boil but wait untill you cook them as they typically take about 2-3 minutes to cook!

In a wok add a little oil and allow it to get really hot, then add the tofu and stirfry turning it reguarly untill browned on the outside. You  may need to do this in batches. Once cooked transfer the tofu to some kitchen towel and leave to one side.

Add a little more oil to the wok if it looks like it needs it and add all of the vegetables (I usually keep mushrooms out for 5 minutes before adding as they get soft very quickly). Stir the veg and when they look like they are nearly ready stick your noodles on to boil.

Once the vegetables are cooked pour over the sauce and cook for a further 1-2 minutes then turn the heat off. Drain the noodles.

Pile the noodles and vegetables into two bowls and then place the tofu on top! I often add extras like sesame seeds or sweet chilli sauce. It’s quite a big portion but its about 50% vegetables so who cares! 🙂