Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

In my humble opinion, a stir-fry is the easiest way to consume fresh vegetables in a hot dish without losing too much of the nutritional value (as opposed to eating the raw veggies). I often make quick stir fries out of whatever veggies and/or mushrooms I have handy, and have in the past often used commercially-made Asian sauces such as Vegetarian Thai Peanut Sauce or Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. While these sauces are great, they do contain a lot of added sodium and also the mystery ingredient "natural flavors". So today, I tried to make a stir-fry which was made with simpler ingredients and didn't have anything I couldn't identify in my pantry. 

Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients*:

1. 1 block (14oz) Extra-Firm Tofu, pressed** and diced
2. 2 bunches of Scallions (white parts halved and leaves separated)
3. 1 cup Baby carrots, thinly sliced, if needed
4. 2 large Oyster Mushrooms, sliced
5. 6-8 White mushrooms, sliced
6. 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
7. 1 tbsp White Miso
8. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
9. 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
10. 1 cup (or less) Vegetable broth
11. Pepper, to taste.
12. Brown Rice, steamed, 1 cup

Directions: 

Mix miso in about an 1/8 to a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth until completely dissolved. Set aside. If your rice is not previously steamed, fill a stock pot with water and add rice, and set it to boil on the back burner, once the water comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-high and allow to simmer until the rice is tender. Drain and rinse, like pasta. Set aside.  While the rice is boiling, line a large skillet (or wok, if you have one!) with broth. On high or medium-high heat, and add ginger-garlic paste and the extra garlic (for the extra oomph!). Once these release their aroma, add soy sauce and immediately add all the vegetables and a splash of vegetable broth. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until vegetables are done (to your taste) and add the diced tofu, toss well. Generally, I like to leave the vegetables just a tad crunchy and don't let them become fork tender. Mix well. Turn off heat (but leave the pan on the stove). Add Miso/broth mix and stir everything together. Cover and let sit for 2 minutes to allow the miso to release its flavors and for the tofu to absorb as much of the flavors as it can. Serve over steamed brown rice. Garnish with freshly sliced scallions and freshly cracked black pepper. 

Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

My Assessment: Umm Umm Good!!! I had 2 huge guilt-free bowls tonight and I have enough leftovers to  take for lunch tomorrow. This recipe makes 4 good size servings. T tried the last serving and picked at it because he's not a fan of tofu.  

* This is a no-added-salt recipe. The soy sauce and miso had so much flavor and natural salt that I didn't add, or feel the need for, any salt at all.

** Press tofu between kitchen towels, with a weight on top for 5-10 min. This removes excess liquids and then the tofu tends to absorb fluids from the vegetables and the sauce and takes on a lot more flavor.