I love Chinese takeout. I love the flavors, the chopsticks, the cute little boxes, and the overall convenience of it. But more often than not, I walk away feeling kind of gross and regretful after eating a plateful of vegetable lo mein and fried rice from our local Chinese restaurant. When I make my own Asian-inspired food at home, not only is it healthier, but I actually think it tastes better than takeout.
This recipe is loosely based on the one in the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook; I modified it quite a bit. It’s not authentic by any means, but it was a great way to use up some veggies that I had on-hand; hence the Brussels sprouts. There’s a lot of room for experimentation here. Also, you can use any kind of deep pan for this dish, but I finally broke down and purchased a wok. And let me tell you, it makes cooking this dish, and any other kind of stir-fry dishes, much easier.
Vegetable Fried Rice
Serves 6
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked brown rice
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
1 14oz package of extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into ¾-inch cubes
2 cups chopped broccoli
3/4 cup Brussels sprouts, cut in half length-wise
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup button mushrooms, quartered
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup low-sodium tamari, plus 2 tbsp
2 tbsp mirin
½ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Black pepper to taste
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
Cook the rice according to directions.
In a wok, add a tablespoon of the sesame oil to the pan and add your tofu. (Be careful, the moisture from the tofu will cause the oil to pop and splatter.) Fry your tofu until golden brown on all sides.
Mix the 2 tbsp of tamari and ½ tsp ginger powder and add the mixture to the tofu. Once the tamari mixture has been soaked up by the tofu, take the tofu out of the wok and set aside.
Add another splash of sesame oil to the pan and add the broccoli and Brussels sprouts to the wok. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly. Take out of the wok and set aside.
Add yet another small splash of sesame oil to the wok and add the red onion, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes. Take out of the wok and set aside.
Add the last bit of sesame oil to the wok and add your cooked brown rice. Stir a few times, and then add the rest of the tamari and the mirin. Stir to coat the rice. Add the cooked tofu and veggies back to the wok and stir to incorporate. Add freshly cracked black pepper, top with sesame seeds, and serve.
I like to add a little Sriracha sauce on top for an extra kick.
Enjoy!
