Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Peanutty Stirfry

(Day One of the Vegan Challenge and I am feeling good. For breakfast I ate a big bowl of oatmeal spiked with ginger, coconut, walnuts and dates. Yum. Lunch today will be wild rice and Edamame Caviar. Dinner? Indian packs from Trader Joe's and Chana Masala, sans the yogurt for me)

I love making stirfry recipes, but often the ingredient list for these recipes is as long as my arm. Not so with this recipe, it is simple and succinct, but full of flavor.

We'll be making this recipe for dinner soon, since it is the perfect recipe to adapt for vegan/vegetarian diet. I'll cook tofu for me, chicken for the boys and SPH.

If you have a peanut allergy, you can use almonds and almond butter instead.

Peanutty Stirfry

1/4 cup water
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut or other nut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon EACH dried ginger, garlic powder and onion powder
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 pound extra-firm tofu, chicken or other protein
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup chopped vegetable (bok choy, carrots, bell peppers or pea pods would all work great)
cooked rice
1/2 cup roasted peanuts or other nut
red pepper flakes (optional)

In a medium bowl combine the water, soy sauce, peanut (or other nut) butter, vinegar, sugar, dried ginger, garlic powder and onion powder. Stir very well to combine.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the tofu or other protein and cook 5-6 minutes, or until browned. Remove from heat. (*if cooking two different kinds of protein, add a wee bit more oil and cook the additional protein now and also remove from heat once done.)

Add the broccoli and other vegetable and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until tender, but not mushy. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and bring to a simmer, while stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low.

If doing two different proteins, serve the vegetables with sauce over the rice and add the protein separately and top with peanuts or other nuts. If doing only one protein, add the tofu or chicken to the vegetables and sauce, and toss well, then serve over the rice, topping with the peanuts or nuts and red pepper flakes, if desired.


Serves 4.

Life is sweet!
SPC

5 comments:

whitneyingram said...

I love that you are doing this challenge. I am eager to hear your progress throughout. I don't think going vegan would be hard for me. My mom didn't use a lot of dairy when she would cook, so I am already used to that. But I do know that eggs would be hard to get rid of. They just make everything better. Like today for lunch, I had brown rice, roasted broccoli and a poached egg. The egg.... it just brought it all together. Delicious! I hope that hasn't made your vegan tummy jealous!

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Yes, eggs. I actually was thinking of them yesterday. Love them. I had pasta carbonara for two days leading up to this challenge and I found myself recently remembering all the non-vegan foods I love. Ate way too much dairy and cheese the last three days.

We'll see. I won't beat myself up if I slip up, I'll be honest with everyone and we'll just see where it goes.

My mom called me to say: promise if you feel awful you'll eat some animal protein! I promised. No challenge is worth feeling awful.

Gina; The Candid RD said...

This looks REALLY similar to a dish I made not too long ago, with peanut sauce, broccoli, and chicken. Nick (my BF) and I loved it. I'm sure it was just as good with tofu! If only I could eat tofu.
Glad your first day went well! Your oatmeal breakfast sounds fantastic.

Mommy on my boys turf said...

Hi,I am planning to make this tonight. It has been on my menu planner a few nights. What do you think about using frozen veggies? I have a stir-fry blend. I am a little concerned it might be mushy. I don't care for mushy stir fry. Thoughts?

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Mommy--do the veggies separate and cook until crisp, I don't think it would be too mushy! Just make sure all the residual water has evaporated and you will be fine!