home style tofu stir fry

home style tofu stir fry 📷 Joe Sevita

5 Spice Tofu Nuggets from Hodo Foods

tofu stir fry with hodo 5 spice tofu nuggets

We discovered a new favorite from FreshDirect.  It’s the Organic 5 Spice Tofu Nugget by Hodo Foods.  The smoky sweetness is irresistible and makes you want to pop them in your mouth right out of the package.  We polished off quite a few boxes before I had all the ingredients to make this dish. 

These tofu nuggets reminds me of Fried Gluten in Chinese cuisine which is usually braised and canned.  A handful added to a vegetarian dish is like adding bacon to vegetables.

I decided to use these nuggets as a flavor enhancer for my vegetarian dish which we crave pretty often.  My main protein is frozen tofu. The freezing process creates these small, sponge-like holes when the water in the tofu freezes and turns to ice crystals.  These little holes remain when tofu is thawed and all the better for the sweet and savory sauce to take up camp.

We loved this addictive savory and sweet tofu with colorful vegetables with white rice. I wish there was a big batch for next day. Hope you try it.

ingredients:

• 1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water

• 1.5 cup stock, vegetarian or chicken

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tsp dark soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or sherry

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 nub of ginger, sliced

• 1.5 cup snow peas

• 2 carrot sliced into 1/4 inch thickness

• 1 yellow pepper, cut into 3/4 inch squares

• 1/2 cup of water chestnut, sliced thin

• 1 pack of Hobo tofu nuggets

• 2 garlic clove, sliced

• 1 pack of frozen tofu cut into 1.5 by 1 by 1/3 inch sliceS

cooking steps

1. In a medium bowl, mix stock, oyster sauce, sesame oil, light and dark soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar and salt.  Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan, add ginger and stir until fragrant.  Add snow peas and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the same pan, add carrot slices and stir fry for about 5 minutes.  Add peppers and water chestnuts and stir fry for another 3-4 minutes.  Add tofu nuggets, garlic and stir fry until fragrant.  Finally add frozen tofu and mix everything well.

4. Add stock to the pan and bring contents to a boil.  Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove cover, add corn starch mixture and raise heat to medium high.  Cook until sauce is thickened a bit.  Turn off heat, add back cooked snow peas and mix well.  

5. Serve with white rice.