Spicy Sweet Broccoli & Tofu

Well, I thought it seemed a little excessive to just eat a million homemade vegetable egg rolls for dinner and so I thought a quick carb-free entree with protein and vegetables would be a good choice. And with that the broccoli and tofu stir fry was born. 


Spicy Sweet Broccoli & Tofu

• 1 Block extra firm tofu
• 2 Heads of broccoli, rinse and trim to reserve the florets 
• 2 Spring onions
• 3 Tablespoons champagne (or rice) vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Teaspoon ketchup
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Olive oil and salt/pepper to taste

Slice the block of tofu in half so that you have two 'sheets' of tofu the same size as the original block, but thinner. Makes sense? Then put paper towels on a dish towel, lay the two sheets of tofu on it and then fold the towels over and press firmly to help drain the excess liquid from the tofu. Then slice the tofu into thick cubes. 

You'll see in one of my earlier posts, tofu stir-fry, I usually cut tofu into thinner slices because it's faster (just flip once in the pan to cook both sides), but I wanted larger/more substantial pieces in this recipe since there are really just two main ingredients. But if you don't want to go through the slightly tedious process of flipping the tofu cubes 4-6 times to sear each side then just use thin slices. I went ahead and poured a small amount of olive oil in a hot pan and just flipped these guys till each side was golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then set to the side.

Mix together the vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, water and red pepper flakes. Taste the sauce, add more soy sauce if you choose. Pour half of it into the hot pan (tofu just removed) and add the spring onions, cook for less than a minute. 

Add the broccoli and a little more of the sauce, stir. Put a top on the pan for a couple minutes so the broccoli can steam. 

Remove the lid and add the tofu, gently stir to mix. I didn't use all of the sauce but add as much as you'd like. I served this as is without rice and it was really great!