Tofu Stir Fry is one of my favorite lazy dinners: cheap, easy to make, filling and ridiculously tasty for something that requires so little effort.

Barney had always been fascinated by the stories about his great-great-great-grandfather. According to the oldest rats in the community, he had been a chef of almost mythical talent. Not just a good chef by rat standards, but one who had apparently worked in a real kitchen and could even take charge of one of the enormous two-legged creatures that delivered food to their shiny basket with the loose lid beside their burrow. Most rats dismissed the stories as nonsense, but Barney always believed they were true. After all he has always had a fondness of the culinary arts as well.

For weeks now, Barney had been working his way through an old cookbook he had found beside the abandoned data center outside the city. He had made his way through the beginner section one recipe at a time, and now there was only one recipe left before he could move on to the next level. He studied the page carefully. Tofu stir-fry. Rice, crispy tofu, garlic, scallions, peas and a simple soy sauce and vinegar dressing. Nothing particularly extravagant. It certainly looked simple enough to understand, yet there was plenty of room to get it just right and maybe even experiment a little. Barney could almost smell the crispy tofu, the soy sauce soaking into the rice, the little bursts of peas and the zing of freshly cut scallions. He was ready. This will be the recipe to advance him straight into the "Novice" section of the book.

And he knew exactly who he wanted to make it for. Francesco, the old weasel barber, had been trimming Barney's whiskers for years and had developed quite the reputation for being difficult to impress. If Barney could serve him a meal worthy of the family legend, perhaps he could sew doubt, that the old stories weren't entirely ridiculous. He closed the cookbook. The recipe might signal the end of the the beginner section, but there was nothing beginner about what he was about to make. Francesco was going to eat very, very well.

Ingredients for Tofu Stir Fry

Tofu
Rice
Garlic
Scallions
Peas
Soy Sauce

A Quick Introduction to This Easy Tofu Stir Fry

This recipe has pretty much everything you could want from an easy weeknight dinner. It’s cheap, simple to make, and doesn’t take long to get on the table. And obviously, it’s pretty damn delicious. There’s also lots of protein. A block of tofu can pack in up to 45 grams, depending on the brand and size, making this a pretty satisfying plant-based meal.

It’s also one of those dishes that even the somewhat picky eaters among us will like. There aren’t any of the usual suspects hiding in here that might make people suspicious of their dinner. Although, I suppose we do have peas to contend with. Are there actually people who vehemently detest peas? Hard to imagine.

Do I have to use leftover rice for this recipe?

You’re not obligated to use leftover rice for this recipe, but just like with Rice and Beans recipes, it does make things a little easier. Freshly cooked rice contains more moisture, which means it’s more likely to stick to the pan, clump together, and refuse to separate as nicely as day-old rice. Leftover rice also tends to soak up the sauce and flavors a little more. That said, fresh rice will absolutely work. I’ve made fried rice with freshly cooked rice plenty of times, and it still turns out delicious.

If you’re using fresh rice, there are a couple of things you can do to make it work better. Try cooking it with slightly less water than you normally would, then spread it out and let it sit uncovered for a few minutes before adding it to the pan. This allows some of the excess moisture to evaporate, giving you drier grains that are less likely to stick together.

Do I need a wok to make this recipe?

You don’t need a wok to make this tofu stir fry. A standard frying pan works perfectly well, and I’ve made this dish in one plenty of times with great results. The main advantage of a wok is that its high, sloping sides make it easier to toss and stir the rice, combine all the ingredients, and distribute the sauce evenly without accidentally sending half your dinner over the edge. There are definitely some more sophisticated reasons why woks are ideal for stir-frying, but that’s the main benefit I’ve noticed in my own kitchen.

If you’re using a regular pan, just be a little more careful when stirring so nothing escapes. You may also want to turn the heat down slightly, as the wider surface of a frying pan means more of the rice is in direct contact with the hot surface at once, which can make it easier for things to burn. But don’t let the lack of a wok stop you from making this. A good old frying pan works great.

Can I use a different plant-based Protein instead of Tofu?

Yeah, certainly. Even though the recipe is called tofu stir fry, there’s no reason you can’t switch up the protein. The best substitute would probably be edamame beans. You can simply cook them briefly before adding them to the pan, or, if you want to make things a little more fancy, roast them separately with some garlic and soy sauce before tossing them in.

Other plant-based protein sources like tempeh work well too and can be prepared much like the tofu in this recipe. Or, of course, you could go completely overboard and add all of them for a super-mega, protein-pumped fried rice that will instantly transform your body into a Herculean masterpiece. Although at that point, you might as well skip the rice and cooking altogether and just eat beans and tofu straight from the fridge for maximum time efficiency.

What vegetables can I add to Tofu Stir Fry?

The recipe as written is intentionally very simple and budget-friendly, so it doesn’t call for too many fancy ingredients. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add a few if you feel like experimenting. My number one addition would definitely be mushrooms. They work incredibly well here and can simply be fried in the pan before you add the garlic. Other green vegetables like spinach or pak choi are delicious too and make an easy addition.

If you want to give the dish a bit of a kick, crispy chilli oil or regular chilli paste both work really well. I’d add them towards the end of the cooking time so the heat and flavor of the chilli don’t get unintentionally altered by cooking it. But in general, this is a very experimentation-friendly recipe. So whatever instinct or inspiration hits you, go for it. You can hardly go wrong here.