Vietnamese Stir-Fry in Tomato Sauce

Cilantro not optional! It's so good on this.

One semester in college, I had a Vietnamese roommate who was willing to cook all sorts of delicious things for us while I washed dishes and peeled shrimp as her sous chef. This was one of my favorite meals that she taught me to make, and I can't believe I haven't blogged it yet.

I like to make it with fried tofu, but it's also great with shrimp and chicken and probably other proteins as well.

I imagine the vegetables could be changed out, but I'm partial to broccoli in this. And white onions. And did I mention the cilantro? I really like cilantro on top.

This "recipe" is more a reminder of what ingredients to use than a guide to quantities, because I've learned how it should taste and I adjust the proportions accordingly. If you are reading this blog and you are not me, you might want to do some googling to get some more foolproof instructions.

The Recipe:

1 block tofu (or another protein)

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

1 white onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pint crushed tomatoes

1 fresh tomato, sliced

Approximately 1 tb fish sauce

Sugar, to taste

Salt, to taste

Chili-garlic sauce, to taste

Press the tofu between paper towels for an hour to remove excess water
Fry tofu in vegetable oil, and slice into bite-sized pieces
In a sauce pan, saute garlic in vegetable oil for 1 minute. Then add crushed tomatoes, fresh tomato, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and chili-garlic sauce.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, saute onion slices until softened. Add broccoli and saute about 5 minutes, then add tofu and the tomato sauce mixture and toss to combine.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A-

Overall reason: Healthy and flavorful

Time to prepare: 45 minutes

Husband quote: "If you were to make this with meat instead of tofu, what would you use? .... But I do like it." (My answer was shrimp and he was excited about that.)

Comments

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from Tea for Turmeric and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...

Vietnamese Curry Stir-Fry

When I get the recipe just right, I'll go to the effort of adding fried shallots on top. I'm back to my on-and-off mission of trying to make a stir-fry as delicious as the shrimp I used to get at Pho Grand in St. Louis during college. It was called "cari tom" but it definitely wasn't a coconut milk type of curry, and they ALSO have a separate listing on their menu for "cari tom dac biet" which includes "coconut milk sauce" in their description. So I'm pretty sure it was just a stir-fry that had curry flavors in it? I got myself a big container of Vietnamese curry powder and I'm going to keep experimenting. This is the closest I've come so far. Changes for the future: - More oil and sugar, restaurant style - A blend of fish sauce and soy sauce, instead of just soy sauce - Fried shallots on top The Recipe (adapted from Veggie Anh ): 3 tb fresh lemongrass, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 Thai chili, minced 1 pinch salt 2 tb avoc...

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog