Cupboard Quarantine Cooking: Tofu Fried Rice

Hey ya'll! The calendar tells me it's April 6th, but honestly I have completely lost track of time. We are still under Stay At Home orders due to COVID-19. Supplies are wearing thin. Pesach starts in 2 days. Nonetheless, dinner must go on! Luckily I have frozen vegetables. This fried rice recipe can substitute ANY vegetables, fresh or frozen. I am using tofu as the protein but you could substitute fried egg or cooked chicken, peas or edamame, or no protein source at all. Totally customizable. Just use this as the blueprint.

The most important thing about fried rice, is that you must use pre-cooked cold rice, so plan ahead. This ensures that the rice is fluffy and the grains are seperate, rather than a gloppy, gloopy mess. The recipe below walks you through it.

I hope you are all doing OK in all of this. I'd love to hear from you. If I don't get back here before Wednesday night, I want to wish a happy Passover to those who observe, and a happy Easter to my Christian readers. I'm certain that none of us will be celebrating our holidays in the manner which we have become accustomed to, but we WILL get through this. In the meantime, we are creating something that none of us will EVER forget.

Sending you love and strength.

Tofu Fried Rice

Serves 4

1 cup rice

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 box tofu, any type, cubed

2 cups frozen green beans

1 cup frozen spinach

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (or 1/4 tsp ginger powder)

NOTE: This recipe requires COLD COOKED RICE, so start preparing the rice well ahead of dinner time.

1. Rinse the rice in a strainer with cold water until the water runs clear.

2. Put the rinsed rice in a pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil.

3. Salt the water, cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the water.

4. Remove from the heat, uncover, fluff the rice, and allow to cool. You can put it in the fridge if you are in a hurry.

5. In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil.

6. Saute the cubed tofu until lightly browned on all sides and remove from the wok. Set aside.

7. In the same wok, over medium high heat, saute the onion and carrot for 5 minutes.

8. Add the frozen green beans, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 more minutes. You can add water if the mixture starts to appear dry.

9. Add in the frozen spinach and stir until it starts to melt.

10. With your hands, crumble in the rice and sprinkle with soy sauce. Again, add water as needed to keep it from sticking to the pan.

11. Serve hot from the wok, topping each dish with the reserved tofu and adding more soy sauce and or hot sauce as your preference.