Roasted Tofu Fried Rice

I've decided to start following Meatless Monday for my health and the health of the planet. Tonight for dinner my boyfriend and I had a delicious tofu fried rice. This was my second attempt at cooking with tofu. My first was a somewhat watery and flavorless addition to my Pad Thai. I figured if I roasted the tofu, it would lose that watery texture and pick up some flavor. Boy, was I right! The tofu tasted nothing like my last attempt and really provided a chewy, meaty and flavorful addition to my normally all-veggie fried rice.

I started by draining the tofu from its liquid and setting a bowl of water on to of it in a colander to weight it down a little and drain some of the water out of it. You don't want to put something too heavy on top of it so that it crushes it, just to squeeze it a little.

After draining the tofu for a few minutes, I cut it into about 1-inch cubes and tossed it with the olive oil and spices. Then I roasted them for 30 minutes at 450°F, for 15 minutes, turn, and then 15 minutes more.

While the tofu is roasting, if you don't already have rice ready, cook the rice according to its package. I used organic white Basmati rice. After the rice is done cooking, leave it with the lid off, so some of the moisture can evaporate from it. This recipe works better with rice that's about a day old, as it absorbs more flavor from the sesame oil and soy sauce.
Heat sesame oil in a wok (or large skillet if you don't have a wok) on medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion and garlic, and saute, stirring, until the carrots and onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add rice, and stir to combine.  Add peas (you don't need to thaw them if they're frozen, they'll heat through pretty quickly) and corn, stirring. Add soy sauce and stir. Then, add eggs and stir until the eggs are cooked. Add the tofu and a few squirts of sriracha if you're using it.

Taste it for seasoning. If it needs more salt, I usually add a little soy sauce. And, because I like my food very spicy, I added more sriracha.

Ingredients:

Roasted Tofu

1 (14 oz) package tofu

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup uncooked rice, cooked according to package directions

1 cup diced carrots (4-5 small carrots, peeled and diced)

1/2 large sweet white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

3 TBSP toasted sesame oil

1 cup canned corn (rinsed and drained)

1/2 cup frozen peas

4 TBSP soy sauce

Sriracha (optional)

2 eggs, beaten

Steps:Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drain tofu of excess liquid and try to squeeze some out. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Combine olive oil, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the tofu and toss to cover.

Spread the tofu out evenly over a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Roast the tofu at 450°F for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

Heat the sesame oil in the wok, add carrots, onions and garlic. Stir and saute until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the rice. Stir.

Add peas and corn. Stir until they're heated through and the wok is hot again. Stir in the soy sauce.

Then add the eggs and stir until the eggs are cooked through. Add the tofu in and stir.

And it's done! Time to eat! Serve with extra soy sauce and sriracha sauce.

Notes: As I mentioned above, this recipe works better with rice that was cooked the day before. Also, I like lots of veggies in my fried rice. This was the first time I tried it with corn. I usually just use onions, peas, and carrots. Lots of other veggies would probably be good in this too.

Enjoy!