Stir fries don’t always have to be made at the end of the week from the left over veg. The trick with stir fries is not to overdo the number of different vegetables and to always use a base of finely chopped ginger and garlic, spring onions, chopped chili and cashew nuts.
For this version I used
sunflower oil
sesame oil
soy sauce – the light one is nicer I think
small piece of ginger – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
4 spring onions – sliced
1 red chili – deseeded and sliced
60g cashew nuts
1x250g block of firm tofu
broccoli – cut into smallish florets
a handful of mushrooms – quartered
half a red pepper – sliced into strips
2 courgettes – cut into rough chunks
basmati or long grain rice
2 eggs – beaten with a little sesame oil
handful of frozen peas
Start by making to rice as you will fry it again later. Place as much rice as you need in a pan. Cover with water – about 1cm over the top of the rice. Bring to the boil until peaks start to form. Cover with the pan lid and turn the heat off. Leave for 15-20 minutes until the water has all been absorbed.
Meanwhile drain the tofu, cover with a tea towel and place a heavy(ish) object on it – a large pan will do. This will gently squeeze the liquid from the tofu which gives it a better texture when cooked. After about 10 minutes, cut the tofu into chunks.
Heat sunflower oil in a wok or large frying pan. When starting to smoke add the tofu and stir fry for a few minutes until browned. Remove from the oil, sprinkle with a little soy sauce and leave to one side.
Return the wok to the heat and add the ginger, garlic, chili, spring onions and cashew nuts. Fry for a seconds than add the other vegetables except the peas. Drizzle with soy sauce and stir fry. When the veg is hot but still a little crisp, drizzle with sesame oil and stir well.
Now return to the rice. Take a large frying pan and add a little sunflower oil. Heat then add the scrambled eggs and fry gently until set. Chop the omelette up with a spatula then add the rice and peas. Stir again and then let it fry off until nice and hot. Stir occasionally.
Serve with sweet chili sauce if you like
