So, admittedly, I used frozen broccoli for this dish. In the past, my attempts to add frozen broccoli in stir fry has resulted in a squishy, sad, overcooked disappointment. The key, it seems, is to thaw the frozen broccoli completely and then spin the water out with a salad spinner. Note on salad spinners: you can almost always find these for super cheap at garage sales and Goodwill.
While we do grow most of our leafy vegetables, herbs, garlic, onion, leeks, and other compact plants in quantities that can completely supply us for the year, our kitchen garden definitely does not keep up with our food consumption. So, I’ve found that keeping a few plain frozen vegetables like cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, and edamame on hand makes cooking at home much easier. These are vegetables that, frankly, we do not have the room (or skill, apparently) to grow in the amounts that we eat.
This stir fry is a good example of using the kitchen garden produce to pull off pantry and freezer storage items. The garlic chives and Thai basil make this dish pop, and add a nutritional boost to boot!
PrintBroccoli (or whatever) Stir-fry with Tofu
This versitile stir fry works with fresh or frozen broccoli (or whatever vegetables you have on hand) and makes great use of Thai basil.
Ingredients
For Stir Fry
- 1/2 cup cabbage, chopped into ribbons
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 8 ounces broccoli crowns (if using frozen, thaw and spin before cooking)
- 1 bunch garlic chives, chopped finely
- 1 bunch Thai basil, chopped finely
- 14 ounces (or so) firm tofu, drained
- 1 Tablespoon mild tasting oil, like avocado
Marinade and sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon mirin
- 1 Tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
For Marinade
- Combine all ingredients of marinade in a tall jar and use immersion blender to blend into a sauce. The main thing here is to get the ginger blended in as much as possible.
- Cut tofu into bite-size pieces and spread in a single layer in a large bowl or baking dish.
- Add marinade to tofu, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or as long as 12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop the marinated tofu out of marinade with a slotted spoon and place in a single layer on the parchment lined baking sheet. Reserve unused marinade.
- Cook tofu for 1 hour and remove.
For Stir Fry
- Using a wok or a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon mild oil on high heat and add mushrooms to pan. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown.
- Add broccoli to pan with mushrooms and cook until broccoli begins to turn bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Frozen broccoli needs very little cooking time, only 1 to 2 minutes until heated through.
- Add cabbage to skillet and cook until beginning to soften, about 1 minute.
- Add tofu and reserved marinade to the skillet and reduce sauce, about 2 minutes or until sauce is mostly gone.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped chives and Thai basil.
- Serve on its own or with brown rice.
Notes
Variations: Use whatever vegetables you have on hand for a total of about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds total in any combination. I like to pair sweeter vegetables with something green.
Try substituting 3/4 pound kale for the broccoli and 3/4 carrots. To prepare, remove large stems from kale, and then wash, spin, and tear into small pieces. Peel carrots and cut into thin rounds, grate, or julienne. Since kale and carrots take a similar amount of time to cook (4 or 5 minutes), you can add them at the same time in step one.
Tip for Successful Vegetable Substitutions: Vegetables with a lot of water, like summer squash, may need to be pressed on a towel before cooking. Very hard vegetables, like carrots or sweet potato, may need to be sliced into ribbons in order to speed up the cooking time.
shirley
fantastic to know abt frozen broccoli! i had stopped using it due to the reasons u mentioned. now i will look for a salad spinner. great idea!
Lesley
Salad spinners are a game changer for some things, like fresh leaf salads, fresh herbs, and things that need to be as dry as possible when they go into the pan (like stir fry). I highly recommend having one around, especially if you can find a used one.