Now, I know you find people posting online ’10-minute recipes’, ’20-minute recipes’, ‘14.5-minute recipes’……I don’t know how they actually test them out. But I keep a timer for myself during the testing phase (seems logical). I’m just saying it out loud now, you might or might not think I do. But to clear it up, I take my ingredients out and keep them on my table. I start the timer, and continue with peeling, chopping, crying over my failures- you know that kinda stuff! RIGHT!
We’re making Stir-fried tofu with Vegetables and Stir-Fried Noodles.
Tips for this recipe: Chinese/Indo-Chinese cooking revolves around two things. Good pre-preparation, and high heat on a wok or a frying pan. Luckily, with this recipe, once you chop and saute the veg. It’s just a matter of splitting them into two dishes. So, once the prep work is done for the dishes, the assembly is a cake walk. So, be a good student and do your homework before beginning the exam……….I need to get better at analogies.
Ingredients
- 4-5 cloves of Chopped Garlic
- 1/2 inch of Chopped Ginger
- 2 no Chopped Green Chillies
- 2 no Diced Onions
- 1/2 no Diced Green Bell Pepper
- 1/2 no Diced Red Bell Pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp of Sesame Oil
- 2-3 Tbsp of Schezwan Sauce
- 2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp of Cornstarch (for coating)
- 100g of Cubed Firm Tofu
- 80 gms of Dried Noodles
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- (Optional) Chopped Green onions for garnish
- (Optional) Sesame seeds for garnish
Procedure
- Boil water and add the noodles. Season with salt, and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain, rinse, and set them aside. Tip: Add a touch of oil and mix them to prevent sticking.
- Peel, chop or dice the vegetables required for the dishes as stated above.
- Add some sesame oil (only if you’re not allergic) into a hot frying pan on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and green chillies (holy trinity). Sauté them for a quick 15 secs. Season slightly.
- Now add the onions and bell peppers. Season to taste, and cook them until they are slightly soft. Add a touch of water if necessary. Meanwhile, cut and coat the tofu with cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- Once the veggies are done, remove them from the pan. Add some more oil, and let it heat up before adding the tofu and cooking it till slightly brown.
- Add half of the stir-fried vegetables to the tofu. Add the Schezwan and Soy sauces and toss to coat evenly. Check for seasoning and add any if necessary. Transfer it to a serving dish.
- In the same pan, heat up some oil and add the remaining veggies, and add your noodles. Add some soy sauce and toss to combine evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer it to another serving dish.
- Garnish both of the dishes with green onions and sesame seeds.