Easy Tofu & Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

When you’re feeling lazy but you still need something tasty, fast and healthy to eat, I find stir fry is always a good option. It packs your plate with vegetables, tons of flavor and most important of all….carbs. And it does all that without becoming a calorie bomb, though that part is pretty dependent on the cook.

Grab whatever vegetables you have on hand, a bag of rice and throw open the doors of your spice cabinet so you whip up a delicious vegan stir fry in just 30 minutes.

The key for a simple meal is to minimize ingredients and choose foods that have a similar cook time. Since I didn’t feel like spending all night in the kitchen, I kept it simple with an ingredient list that included broccoli, red & yellow bell pepper, onion, ginger, garlic and tofu. Smoked or natural works well, just use what you have on hand. If you have mushrooms, seitan or tempeh, use it instead of the tofu. Again, this is a quick and easy vegan meal.

If you’ve never made a stir fry before, let me preface this by saying that this is in no way authentic, just my way of doing things.

I like to add the ginger to the oil or water first to let it start pulling out the flavor and scent, along with some of the dry spices like curry, lemongrass, cumin, paprika and garam masala. When the air becomes super fragrant, add in the tofu, onions and bell peppers. Broccoli cooks fairly quickly and we like it with some crunch, so it goes in later. With the garlic.

The comes the sauce. I like to keep this simple too with a quick mixture that includes soy sauce, Sriracha, tomato paste, ground ginger, water and cornstarch. Mix it well and pour it over the cooked vegetables. Give it a good stir and let it come to a boil before turning it down to simmer until the sauce thickens.

That’s it. Easy, right?

Serve on a bed of rice, whatever you like. I always have jasmine and brown basmati rice on hand because they’re my favorite but any rice will do.

And there you have it, a quick and easy vegan stir fry with no unknown or difficult to find ingredients.

If you do your prep work and get the rice started early, you’ll find this is an excellent lazy weekday dinner that you can make using any mixture of vegetables you have on hand.