I’m sitting at in Bristol Airport as I write this, waiting to board a plane flight to Krakow. I have not visited since the cold snap, so I am looking forward to touching down and seeing all my family and friends. As always before any holiday, I’ve been working double hard in preparation for it, so I’m really looking forward to putting my feet up.
I plan on catching up with my family, leisurely sipping coffee with friends in town, checking out some new vegan food joints, watching the world go by and enjoying beautiful September weather. While the UK feels rather cold at the moment, Poland has been pulling some beautifully sunny days (well above 20° C (68° F)) out of the bag. I’m so excited to be able to wear summer clothes for a touch longer.
After a rather involved Friday recipe for Portuguese custard tarts , which required a number of iterations to get absolutely right, today, I am taking it easy. Today’s recipe is a simple ‘mid-weeker’ inspired by egg fried rice but without the egg, of course.
It a great way to use up rice leftovers and to smuggle ample amount of dark green veg into your food. I used two different types of kale (curly and lacinato), but broccoli works really well too. It’s a perfect dish to eat hot or at room temperature and an ideal candidate for advance prep. I recommend cooking lots of rice in advance and quadrupling the amount of dressing and putting it into a jar in the fridge. The dressing easily keeps for at least a week and its flavour improves with time. This way you will be able to assemble this dish quickly on the day.
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (if GF)
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp mirin or 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp Sriracha sauce, more to taste
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 small garlic clove, grated finely
- 2 tsp grated ginger, adjust to taste
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 200 g / 7 oz firm or extra firm cotton tofu*, pressed (I recommend smoky tofu)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (if GF)
- 2 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch (optional)
- 4-6 tsp neutral tasting oil (I used rice bran oil)
- 200 g / 7 oz kale or tenderstem broccoli, chopped into equal size pieces
- 100 g / 3.5 oz sugar snap peas or mangetout, sliced into equal size pieces
- 1 carrot, sliced thinly
- 1 ear of corn, kernels shaved off with a sharp knife
- 2 spring onions, sliced thinly
- 3-4 cups cooked and cooled long grain rice, I use (1 cup raw) brown rice
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside.
- If using tofu, cube it and place it in a medium size bowl. Pour 2 tbsp of soy sauce (or tamari) over it. Mix well, allow it to marinate for 30 minutes or so, spooning the soy sauce over the exposed pieces now and then.
- If you intend to fry (rather than bake) your tofu, you could give it a light dusting (a small sieve or teas strainer is good for that) of cornstarch / cornflour just before frying.
- Heat up a small frying pan. Add 2 tsp of oil and allow it to get hot. Pan fry the tofu until lightly charred on all sides. Alternatively, bake it in a 200° C / 390° F oven for about 20 minutes.
- Heat up a large wok until almost smoking, then add approximately 2 tsp (10 ml) of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chopped kale or broccoli and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes, push the veggies to the side of the wok and add another 2 tsp of oil. Allow it to heat up and follow it up with sugar snap peas, carrots, corn kernels and sliced spring onions. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
- Now toss in the cold rice and stir-fry until reheated.
- Stir in the sauce and baked or fried tofu cubes.
- Divide between two bowls and dress with extra Sriracha if you enjoy things a bit more spicy.