Quick Shredded Tofu Stir-fry
This is a snappy little tofu stir-fry, it comes together in a flash, and is the perfect way to kick off the new year. Use it as a spring roll or lettuce wrap filling as well!
This is one of my favorite recipes from my last cookbook, Near & Far. It's a snappy little tofu stir-fry, and it comes together in a flash. It's the perfect kind of recipe to kick off the new year. You get freshness from bright pea shoots (or other greens), substance from the tofu, and some crunch from the pepitas and sesame seeds. It's an easy crowd pleaser, and I often use the leftovers as a spring roll filling (perfect for on-the-go lunches). Rice paper or lettuce wraps do the job!
You'll need to use a box grater for this; finer Microplane graters will shred the tofu too thinly to maintain the right amount of structure.
More Tofu Recipes
- grilled tofu burgers
- vegan "fish" tacos
- caramelized tofu
- sesame seeded tofu
- grilled tofu spring rolls
- tofu scramble
- all the tofu recipes
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Quick Shredded Tofu Stir-fry
This recipe is endlessly adaptable! Take the basic premise and run with it. Chopped broccoli florets make an easy alternative to the pea shoots, peanuts or cashews an alternative to the sesame seeds. To keep the recipe vegan substitute a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup for the honey, and use a non-dairy yogurt instead of crème fraiche.
- 1 small Serrano pepper, seeded and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon runny honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon crème fraiche, sour cream, or non-dairy yogurt
- 2 cups / 2 oz / 55 g pea shoots
- 8 ounces / 225 g extra-firm tofu, shredded on a box grater
- 1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g well-toasted pepitas
- 3 tablespoons (black) sesame seeds
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Start by making the dressing; you'll want it ready when you start to cook. Whisk together the pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the vinegar, honey, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, until emulsified. Add the crème fraiche (or yogurt), and whisk again. Taste and adjust to your liking. Set aside.
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Just before serving, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add the pea shoots, a pinch of salt, and sauté for just 5 seconds or so. The shoots will quickly begin to wilt. Immediately transfer them to a plate.
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Place the tofu in the hot skillet with most of the pepitas and sesame seeds and two-thirds of the dressing. Turn off the heat, and toss gently to distribute the ingredients without breaking down the tofu too much - you just want to warm the mixture a bit. Taste and stir in more salt if needed. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the pea shoots and remaining sesame seeds and pepitas. Serve the extra dressing on the side.
Recipe from my book Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel (2015).
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Tofu Scramble
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Comments
This was a quick and easy recipe that was also very delicious. I couldn't stomach the price of pea shoots at the grocery store, so I sprouted my own in my backyard. It was much easier than I expected, and fun too! I had roasted broccoli the following day and drizzled the leftover dressing from this recipe over it. Yum! Followed the recipe, except for omitting the pepper (I don't like spicy food). I also substituted pine nuts for the pepitas because that's what I had on hand.
I LOVE this recipe. I made it before and it was great but now... I don't have white wine vinegar. What would you think of replacing it with rice vinegar?
Completely fine!
Fantastic recipe! Near and Far is my go to cookbook. I ended up using kale instead of pea shoots since that’s what I had on hand. Also added some smoked sea salt! I will make this again and again.
I love this Kiley. The kale swap sounds perfect and now I'm going to have to try it myself!
Looking forward to trying this recipe - wanted to find one that seems to match or come close to matching Peter Chang's shredded tofu recipe with sesame oil (which I absolutely can't get enough of). I think we can pull this recipe off! Thank you
Oh my goodness! This rocked our socks off! My husband has already asked me to make it again. I sautéed fresh corn and julienne zucchini instead of pea shoots....I guess any veg would work?! Yum, yum, yum! Thank you!
HS: Thanks Hannah!
this looks delicious! is there a reason for making it non-dairy yogurt? i was thinking of using greek cow’s yogurt as i have no dietary restrictions. thanks!
HS: Hi Sonya - use whatever yogurt you prefer! I had this recipe tagged as vegan, so I like to note non-dairy in that case..