My default meal is stir fries. Not only can I finish all the wilting leftover veggies in the fridge, it is also the easiest way to eat the biggest variety of veggies in one sitting, what elementary school children are taught to do - eat a rainbow a day!
Because almost everything goes when it comes to stir fries, I will not give you an exact recipe, but a formula of success:
Protein (meat or plant-based) + crunchy veggies + mushrooms + greens + basic seasonings
In this stir fry, tofu is my protein of choice. When you empty a tofu cube from the box, make sure you dry it off. I like to brown my tofu in a non-stick or cast iron pan on all sides for a few minutes.
Then I throw in a few drops of tamari, toss to coat the tofu cubes and set them aside.
My crunchy veggies are red bell peppers, sugar snap peas and carrots. The mushrooms I am using are shitake and buna-shimeji, which is also called the beech mushroom and the brown clam shell mushroom.
The greens I am using are a few leftover broccoli rabe stems and baby spinach straight out of the bag.
My go to seasonings are tamari, garlic, ginger, salt, garlic flakes, mushroom powder. Sometimes I use all of them, sometimes just a few.
To make the stir fry, warm olive oil in a pan, add ginger and garlic mix.
Toss in crunchy veggies mix.
Add mushroom mix. Add salt, mushroom powder.
Throw in greens. Sprinkle a little more garlic flakes or seasoning of choice.
Toss in browned tofu.
Season with tamari to taste. Sometimes I drizzle a few drops of maple syrup to give it a touch of sweetness.
All ready to go! The simplest dish you can throw together with any random ingredients on a whim!
What is your stir fry formula? What works for you?
