A Real Vegetarian Dish

This dish has become a fast favorite of mine for many reasons. The first, obviously, is that it tastes great. I love stir-fry dishes but usually never eat them because they either contain soy sauce, sugar or in most cases both. This paticular recipe calls for hoisin sauce which contains, you guessed it, sugar (and vinegar). So what I did was I made a peanut sauce to subtitute the hoisin. Yummy! It was fantastic! It's a little more work but if you make it ahead of time, then your fine. I use any extra peanut sauce for salads and rice dishes. I like to make this dish as a main course because it is a little too time consuming for me to just be a side dish. I added a whole other 8 ounces of extra firm tofu in the mix (or you can just keep it on the side for extra protein) and serve it over brown rice.

Green-Packed Stir Fry with Fresh Herbs

Sesame oil
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into slices 1 inch long and as thick as a pencil
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 green onion, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 small red chiles, chopped
1/2 bunch thin asparagus (about 1/2 pound), trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch slices
1 generous handful of cashews or peanuts, coarsely chopped
4 generous handfuls of spinach leaves, stemmed
Grated zest and juice of 1 organic lime
2 tablespoons of peanut sauce (see * below for ingredients)
1 small handful fresh basil, slivered
1 small handful fresh mint, slivered
Fine-grain sea salt

When you have all of your ingredients prepped, arrange them within arm's reach of the stove. Heat a small splash of sesame oil in a wok or large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add tofu and cook for a couple of minutes, unitl the tofu is golden. Remove from the pan. (You can also cook the tofu in a dry nonstick or well seasoned pan.)

Add another splash of oil to te wok and, as soon as it's hot, add the garlic, green onions, ginger, chiles, and asparagus. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the nuts and spinach and stir for another minute, or unitl the spinach wilts and collapses. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the peanut sauce. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and stir in the mint and basil. Season with enough salt to make the flavors pop, starting with a few generous pinches. This Serves 2 (generously) as a main dish, 4 as a side. Enjoy!

*Peanut Sauce

1/3 cup natural smooth peanut butter
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup of canned unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons of water

Smooth everything together in a small saucepan and heat thoroughly on low heat.