Garlic Ginger Stir Fry

This Monday for Meatless Mondays from A to Z is Ginger for the letter G.

I have never really used ginger before unless you count ginger powder in pumpkin pie.  I was really excited to go out of my element here and try fresh ginger.  After researching recipes I came across a Garlic Ginger Stir Fry which sounded delicious.  I was excited to try out this stir fry because this is the first real stir fry I have ever made!  Normally if I'm in the mood for stir fry I'll just order take out or heat up a bag of frozen mixed veggies, put it on top of brown rice, and add some tamari.  I would definitely make this stir fry again!  It is so good with freshly made brown rice and freshly chopped vegetables all cooked in a garlic ginger sauce!

This recipe was adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 3 stalks bok choy, sliced
• 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 sweet red pepper, sliced
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 package tofu, baked
• 1/2 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. Prepare tofu by cutting it into cubes.  Then, marinate and bake tofu.  (I used the ingredients in this marinade but baked the tofu at 375F for 40 minutes flipping halfway through baking time.)
2. While the tofu is baking, blanch carrots, broccoli, and bok choy in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until just tender.  Then, add garlic and ginger and continue cooking for another minute.
4. Add tofu, mushrooms, and red pepper and cook for a few more minutes until everything is heated.
5. Stir in blanched vegetables.
6. Add tamari and vinegar and bring to a boil.
7. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with a little water.  Add mixture to the pan of veggies and stir until thick.
8. Add green onions and serve over brown rice or rice noodles.

Don't be overwhelmed by all the ingredients.  Once everything is chopped, it does not take long to cook.  It also only requires one cutting board, a knife, and a pan so it is pretty easy clean up as well.  You can also prepare the veggies earlier in the week or day so that when you are ready to cook, you can just toss everything together!

All the veggies and tofu in the pot waiting to be served over brown rice!

The flavors of this stir fry were perfect together!