Vegetarian Tofu and Mushroom Fried Rice
Today's savory Meatless Monday Mashup features Vegetarian Tofu and Mushroom Fried Rice -- An umami blend of mushrooms, tofu, veggies, and egg, all tossed into a big pan of savory fried rice!
Servings 4
Ingredients
– for the tofu (if not using leftover cooked tofu -- see Note)
- 14-16 oz package extra firm tofu drained, pressed, and cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil optional but recommended
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic about 2 cloves
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
- for the veggies
- 1 tablespoon canola or other high smoke point oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil optional but recommended
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- 1 medium carrot peeled and diced small
- 2 tablespoon minced onion
- 4 cloves minced garlic about 2 tsp
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional -- omit, if you’re sensitive to heat
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- for the rest
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 cups cold cooked rice it’s not an exact science — use what you have, if using leftover rice
- 1 teaspoon canola or other high smoke point oil
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
To cook up the tofu:
- Press tofu by patting the block dry, then wrapping it in either a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
- Put the wrapped tofu on a dinner plate, place a second plate on top, and use something like a heavy can on top to add some weight and help press out some of the liquid.
- Let it sit for about 15 minutes, then unwrap and cut into cubes.
- While tofu is pressing, cook up the rice (if not using leftover -- see Note), plus slice all your veggies and get them ready.
- Once the tofu is pressed and cubed, heat both oils in a large skillet over medium-high heat for one minute.
- Add tofu and saute for about two minutes, then drizzle with soy sauce and season with garlic and crushed red pepper.
- Continue to saute over medium-high heat for about another eight minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove the tofu from the pan to a paper-towel lined plate once it is nicely browned on all sides.
To cook up the veggies and rice:
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the mushrooms, carrot, onion, and sesame oil and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and continue to saute over medium-high heat for another 3 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to soften.
- Stir in peas, crushed red pepper, and ginger and continue cooking for about a minute, then stir in the cooked rice and spread it out across the entire pan, breaking up clumps.
- Let the rice cook undisturbed for two minutes, then stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Spread rice out again, and cook for another two minutes.
- Stir in the soy sauce and continue cooking over medium-high heat for about another minute.
- Stir the tofu back in and let it warm back up in the rice for a minute or so while you beat the eggs in a small bowl.
- Push the rice, tofu, and veggie mixture to the edges of the pan to create an open well in the center, then add 1 teaspoon canola oil to the center of the pan.
- Pour the beaten eggs into the center of the pan and cook for about two minutes until scrambled, occasionally pushing the egg to the middle and breaking it up. Stir and chop the cooked scrambled eggs into the rice.
- Taste to see if you want to add additional soy sauce, and serve.
Notes
Cold cooked leftover rice works much better for fried rice than freshly cooked, and it’s also important for the final texture to let the rice sit spread out in the pan undisturbed for a while, rather than stirring frequently. This is also quicker to make if you have leftover cooked tofu (which I actually used here), or if you pre-cook it the night before and refrigerate, rather than making it up fresh for the recipe. The cooking time shown here, however, reflects the total time to cook up the tofu & everything.