Stir-Fried Cabbage, Tofu and Red Pepper
Updated Jan. 30, 2023

- Total Time
- About 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 12ounces firm tofu
- ½cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- ½teaspoon sugar
- 1tablespoon rice wine vinegar or dry sherry
- 2teaspoons sesame oil
- 1teaspoon cornstarch
- 2tablespoons peanut oil, rice bran oil or grape seed oil
- 1tablespoon minced ginger
- 2large garlic cloves, minced
- ½medium cabbage, chopped (about ½ pound, 5 cups chopped)
- 1red pepper, cut in 2-inch long julienne
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- ¼cup broken walnuts
- Cooked rice or quinoa for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the tofu into dominoes and drain between paper towels. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the stock, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the sugar, rice wine or sherry, and the sesame oil. Remove 1 tablespoon to a small bowl and stir in the cornstarch. Stir until it has dissolved. Have all the ingredients within arm’s length of your pan.
- Step 2
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the tofu and stir-fry until golden, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or to taste), toss together for a few seconds, and transfer to a plate.
- Step 3
Swirl in the remaining oil, add the garlic and ginger to the wok and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until it begins to soften, and add the cabbage and walnuts. Stir-fry for 1 minute, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Return the tofu to the wok, stir in the walnuts and the stock/soy sauce mixture and stir-fry for another minute, until it has just about evaporated. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and stir-fry until the ingredients are lightly glazed. Remove from the heat and serve with quinoa or rice.
- If you want to reduce the fat, omit the sesame oil.
- Advance preparation: This is last minute, though your ingredients can be prepped hours ahead of time and the cooked rice or quinoa you will be serving this with will keep for three days in the refrigerator and freeze well.
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Private Notes
Comments
Excellent balance of flavors + visual appeal. After preparing it a couple of times I have found a few minor changes improve taste and texture. 1. Lightly coat the tofu in flour before frying. 2. Decrease stock to avoid too much steam/keep veggies crisp. 3. Grate (rather than mince) ginger so that it will be more evenly distributed throughout the dish. 4. A few red chili flakes and some cayenne add zing.
Serves 4? Maybe 4 very tiny people. I just ate this whole thing for dinner.
You might try baking your tofu. Preheat oven to 425 1 pkg firm tofu. Patted dry. Cut however you want, 1” squares to little loafs work great. Make a slurry ⬇️ 1 tbs canola oil 1 tbs corn starch 1 tbs soy sauce Dip tofu and place on PARCHMENT PAPER and bake for 20 mins till desired crispness.
We aren’t big fans of tofu so I swapped it out for garbanzo beans. I just toasted them up a bit in some peanut oil, salt, and pepper. It was a big hit.
well, just pushed away from the dinner table - good, but not great. I don't understand the quinoa - healthy yes, but didn't 'match' the Asian part of the dish.Not spicy enough as written and while I love cabbage, it didn't exactly marry with the tofu. Won't make again.
Excellent! I agree with a previous commenter that it's not 4 servings, 2 hungry people, maybe 3 servings, but not 4.
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