Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu With Kale and Red Pepper

Name: Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu With Kale and Red Pepper
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 bunch curly kale (about 10 ounces), stemmed and washed; 1 14-ounce package firm tofu, sliced about 1/4 inch thick; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry; 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste); 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, preferably white pepper; 1/4 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon peanut oil or canola oil; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 tablespoon minced ginger; 1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced; 1 red bell pepper, cut in 2-inch julienne; 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated Jan. 30, 2023

Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu With Kale and Red Pepper — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(387)
Comments: Read comments

Kale is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables (genus Brassica), so named because their flowers have four petals in the shape of a cross. A nutritional powerhouse that tastes wonderful when properly cooked, kale is one of nature’s best sources of vitamins A, C and K and a very good source of copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. These greens are hearty, and they maintain about 50 percent of their volume when you cook them, unlike spinach, which cooks down to a fraction of its volume. The various types of kale also maintain a lot of texture, which makes them perfect for stir-fries.

Featured in: All Kinds of Kale

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1bunch curly kale (about 10 ounces), stemmed and washed
114-ounce package firm tofu, sliced about ¼ inch thick
1tablespoon soy sauce
1tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
¼cup chicken or vegetable stock
1teaspoon cornstarch
¼teaspoon salt (more to taste)
¼ to ½teaspoon ground pepper, preferably white pepper
¼teaspoon sugar
1tablespoon peanut oil or canola oil
1tablespoon minced garlic
1tablespoon minced ginger
1serrano pepper, seeded and minced
1red bell pepper, cut in 2-inch julienne
2teaspoons dark sesame oil

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil, add the kale and blanch 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and place in a bowl near your wok.
Step 2
Cut the tofu into dominos and place them on paper towels. Place another paper towel on top and prepare the remaining ingredients.
Step 3
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, stock and cornstarch. Combine the salt, pepper and sugar in another small bowl. Have all the ingredients within arm’s length of your wok.
Step 4
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 the canola or peanut oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the tofu. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, until it begins to color. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds.
Step 5
Add the red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the kale, salt, pepper and sugar and toss together. Add the soy sauce mixture and the sesame oil. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from the heat and serve with grains or noodles.

Tip

Advance preparation: This is a last-minute preparation, but the blanched kale will keep for about 4 days in the refrigerator.

Ratings

5 out of 5

387 user ratings

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Comments

Danielle7 years ago

I love this recipe--- I never bother to blanch the kale and it turns out fine!

JoanC7 years ago

Delicious and well worth making. Followed the recipe as written. Note, though, that unless you're particularly speedy in the kitchen or have someone to do your mis-en-place for you (or manage to buy organic kale that doesn't come with a healthy dose of dirt, necessitating a thorough washing), this takes more like 40 minutes than 20. Still well worth it.

Chappell Stewart7 years ago

Very tasty! Doesn't make enough for four dinner sized servings - really only two. I substituted the sugar with a bit of honey in the soy sauce mixture to cut out the added sugar. Turned out great!

Dawn7 months ago

I learned the hard way that blanching the kale is so that it's soft enough to fit in the pan right away, instead of making you carefully stir it in bit by bit while the dry stir fry is burning underneath it. (To fix my misjudgement, I added another splash of broth to deglaze the browned bits and steam the kale. Worked out fine and I liked the dish on the saucy side.) I didn't have a bell pepper, and I think the dish really needs the sweetness it would have provided. Even suboptimal, it was good!

Jules10 months ago

Delicious, I doubled the soy sauce mixture, garlic and ginger and added soaked Thai rice noodles at the end of the stir fry. Will make again.

Becky1 year ago

I’m still new to stir frying tofu, but this recipe worked very well and tasted great. I served it with wide egg noodles.

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