Tofu cauliflower fried rice
Crumbled golden tofu, peas and carrots and cauliflower rice stir-fried with garlic, tamari and sesame, a light, fast fried rice with plenty of protein and a fraction of the carbs.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $3.24 a serving
- 490 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 3 stalks green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens apart
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz frozen cauliflower rice
- 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- ¼ tsp salt
Each serving has about 490 calories, 32 g protein, 30 g carbs and 29 g fat, and costs about $3.24 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No frozen cauliflower rice? Riced cauliflower works.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the tofu dry and it with your fingers into pea-size pieces.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Add the tofu and salt and cook, stirring every minute or so, until and a little , 8 to 10 minutes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Let it sit between stirs. The browning is where all the flavor comes from.Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
Add the rest of the oil, the green onion whites and garlic, and stir 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heat
Add the frozen cauliflower rice and mixed vegetables straight from the bag and 5 to 6 minutes, until hot and the pan looks dry.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cauliflower rice gives off water. Keep going until it cooks away, or the dish tastes soggy.Return the tofu, in the tamari and sesame oil, and about 1 minute, until evenly colored.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Serve topped with the green onion tops and a little sriracha.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
