Before I do anything else, I start the brown rice. I like to rinse it to remove all the extra starch so the finished product isn’t too gummy. Then I cook it in water seasoned with a packet or two of Muso vegan umami broth. It adds a bit of sodium and a lot of flavors, so I compensate by keeping the sodium content as low as possible elsewhere. But the recipe works just as well with vegetable broth or plain water and I frequently use whatever rice I already have in the refrigerator.
I repurposed my cheese slicer to cube the extra firm tofu. You can cut it yourself, but the slicer made it easy. I love finding new ways to use kitchen tools that were originally designed for animal products that we no longer eat.
If you aren’t familiar with tofu, be sure to get the excess moisture out before you start this process. You can wrap it in towels to pat dry, or simply set something heavy on it to press it and squeeze the excess moisture out. Since my husband loves gadgets, he purchased a cute little tofu press from Amazon and it makes it simple and quick. The extra firm tofu adds a healthy 9 grams of protein per serving and is rich in calcium. Tofu acts like a sponge and absorbs other flavors when marinated. When you are shopping, make sure you purchase organic (otherwise there can be some nasty additives). Choose firm or extra firm if you are replacing meats in a dish as I do here, or silken if you want the creaminess for a sauce or dessert.
I place the tofu cubes in a bowl and douse it with low sodium soy sauce. I use about 2 Tablespoons for one package of tofu, but make sure you get enough coating for the spices you will add to adhere to the cubes. You can also use tamari in place of the soy sauce, but that adds more sodium than my diet needs.
For seasonings, I’ve listed what I think is the minimum to get a bit of flavor, but feel free to adjust to your tastes. The nutritional yeast is optional but adds a nice texture that is similar to what the egg used to do when I scrambled it with the pork. On my early revisions of this recipe, I used a vegan egg replacement called ‘Just Egg’. Unfortunately, it adds a lot of unwanted fat and sodium that I can do without and has a very short shelf life. (Still worth it when I make this for company or for those celebratory vegan French Toast treats!) The other optional item is the turmeric. I just confess that I put it in almost everything now because it is so good for inflammation and we have learned to love it. But it is an easy one to overdo so use it sparingly if you decide to add it. The last optional item that I always include is black cumin, which I grind as finely as my old pepper mill will go. Black cumin has been shown to help lower cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar, yahoo!! I love its mild black pepper flavor. For this recipe I use it with Black Pepper, because the dish calls for that bolder flavor. Speaking of bold, some of our family members think hot is a prerequisite to yum, so my husband purchased some hot pepper fermented paste at our local Asian market. I begrudgingly added some to his portion of the tofu and rice before serving. Then I made the mistake of stirring my pan with the same spoon. That stuff is hot!!
After the cubes are coated, I bake them on a silicon or parchment covered cookie sheet in a 400 F oven for about 20-30 minutes. You want them dry enough to stay firm in the finished product, but still easy to chew and flavorful. I find 20-25 minutes perfect but ovens, altitudes and moisture vary.
Lastly, I prepare the vegetables and garnish. I love this dish with just about any green vegetable I have on hand, the more the merrier. But the stand by, is frozen peas and carrots (back to my memories of the restaurant I enjoyed as a child). The pieces are already small, no cutting required. Water chestnuts are also good and my husband and I love broccoli as well. You already know the garnish is scallions aka green onions. I’m picky about the onions. Little tender ones are the best, and equal parts green and white. You’re not looking for bite here, just flavor and crunch.
For the final step, I like using my green pan to mix this so I don’t need any oil. But the wok and a little olive oil would give you that ‘fried rice’ texture. I put the tofu in the pan and brown it just a bit before adding the rice. I sprinkle a little soy sauce to add moisture and flavor as well as a bit of freshly ground pepper. Once that is mixed nicely, I add the vegetables. If I’m using fresh vegetables, I pre-cook them in the microwave or steamer so all I’m doing in the pan is blending the flavors. A few minutes on low heat with the cover on lets all the flavors come together. This is also a great dish to make in advance and warm up for later. It last a couple days in the refrigerator and sometimes I think it is even better after it has rested. I mean who doesn’t like leftover Chinese food!
4 Cups Cooked Brown Rice
14 oz. Tofu (cubed and seasoned as follows)
2-3 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce (enough to coat cubes of tofu in the bowl)
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Black Cumin, Turmeric and Nutritional Yeast are optional (see above)
1-2 Cups finely chopped vegetables (some suggested listed above)
1 bunch of scallions (green onions) finely chopped, equal parts green and white