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.)

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