There are plenty of nights we get home late from the office, and I just don’t feel like waiting an extra hour and a half and making a big mess in the kitchen to make something fussy. I love cooking, so there are plenty of nights I do like to make something special.
But on the days I don’t, one meal I fall back on a lot is stir fry. I adore how the overall meal can turn out pretty complex tasting, even though you really only need one pan to cook it all in. Also, you can easily make a great stir fry dinner from whatever veggies or protein you have on hand.
One veggie I’ve been experimenting with lately is red cabbage. I love how colorful it can make a meal, and cabbage is truly a very delicious vegetable (very similar in taste to my beloved brussels sprouts). If you’re in the mood for a quick, colorful dinner this week, I highly recommend you give this a try.
Red Cabbage Stir Fry, serves 2-3
1 cup uncooked rice (I used brown rice)
7 ounces extra firm tofu
1-2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrow root powder
1/2 red cabbage
1 red bell pepper
1/3 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Cook the rice according to the package directions. Depending on what kind of rice you decide to use, the amount of water needed can vary slightly.
I highly recommend cooking the rice a day (or two) ahead of time. This saves you time the day you are making your stir fry dinner, AND day old rice makes better stir fry. You don’t want your rice to get too soggy, so letting it dry out a little is a good thing.
Drain the tofu from any packaging liquid. Place on a plate with a paper towel underneath, and place a paper towel over the top and another plate. Like a tofu sandwich. Place a few canned goods over the top of the top plate. This will help the tofu to drain more. Cut up into small squares.
Place in a ziplock bag, add the cornstarch, and give it a gentle shake. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, tossing once in the middle of the bake time.
You can also air fry your tofu.
Prepare all your vegetables. Chop up the cabbage, bell pepper, and onion. Mince the garlic. In a large cup, stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves.
Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large cast iron skillet or a wok. Add the onion and bell peppers; cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in the garlic and cabbage, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Now, add in the rice, pour the sauce over everything, and continue to cook until the liquid dissolves and everything is hot. Toss in the baked tofu and cilantro just before serving.
You can totally add a fried egg in there if you like. Honestly, I usually do, but I was out of eggs the day I made this one, and it was still totally delicious, so I figure I’ll put the ball in your court on that one. 🙂 Enjoy! xo. Emma
Note: If you’re enjoying this as part of the Weekday Weekend Challenge be sure to use brown rice or another whole grain option.
Grab this guide to see our Top 25 Recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice (I used brown rice)
- 7 ounces tofu (extra firm )
- 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch (or arrow root powder)
- ½ cabbage (red)
- 1 bell pepper (red)
- ⅓ onion (yellow)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar ( or maple syrup)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the package directions. Depending on what kind of rice you decide to use, the amount of water needed can vary slightly. I highly recommend cooking the rice a day (or two) ahead of time. This saves you time the day you are making your stir fry dinner, AND day old rice makes better stir fry. You don’t want your rice to get too soggy, so letting it dry out a little is a good thing.
- Drain the tofu from any packaging liquid. Place on a plate with a paper towel underneath, and place a paper towel over the top and another plate. Like a tofu sandwich. Place a few canned goods over the top of the top plate. This will help the tofu to drain more. Cut up into small squares.
- Place in a ziplock bag, add the cornstarch, and give it a gentle shake. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, tossing once in the middle of the bake time.
- Prepare all your vegetables. Chop up the cabbage, bell pepper, and onion. Mince the garlic. In a large cup, stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large cast iron skillet or a wok.
- Add the onion and bell peppers; cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in the garlic and cabbage, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Now add in the rice, pour the sauce over everything, and continue to cook until the liquid dissolves and everything is hot. Toss in the baked tofu and cilantro just before serving.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Sarah Rhodes.
Good recipe! I made mine even more delicious by adding ground ginger and garlic powder to the arrowroot.
This was delicious! I added a chopped up zucchini that I had in the fridge. Will definitely make again.
Yum! I love unique salads especially, with an Asian flavor.
These photos made my mouth water like crazy! Recipe looks amazing, definitely on my list to try!
www.sugardameblog.blogspot.com
this looks so delicious! bookmarked! c:
Despite this stir fry, which looks absolutely AMAZING, we have to have those leopard kicks! We love how you paired them with stripes creating a great mix-media outfit!
Looks super delicious! I can’t wait to try it. I wish I could get away with a 16 ingredient recipe feeling like a quick, fuss free dish. Props to you!
This stir fry is perfection ON SO MANY LEVELS! I’m loving the look of this and can’t wait to eat this for dinner when things get hectic, which, btw, is most of the times! 😀
Awesome. I’m usually lazy and don’t drain my tofu when I make a stir fry. Never comes out as good.
I wonder- have you ever tried freezing and then frying tofu? I’ve heard that makes the most awesome fried tofu, but I’ve never tried it.
Nice but…if you’re cooking the tofu for 30 minutes anyway, you might as well stick the rice on too.
Two day old rice is not good!
Looks delicious! I never really knew what to do with red cabbage, thanks for the idea!
Really wanted to try this, but it doesn’t say how much oyster sauce to use (it’s not even in the list of measurements for ing). New at cooking with oyster sauce, so I don’t have a clue as how much to use. Really disappointing.
This sounds delicious and I am totally craving tofu now! Be careful when reheating rice though, it can cause food poisoning!
Stir fry is our fall back dish as well. Love trying new sauces and ingredient combos but most of the time we just throw in whatever is in the fridge!
looks so yummy! but a little heavy for the stomach isn´t it?
Yum! anythign with peppers and the chance for a huge squirt of lime is a friend of mine.
bit.ly/1gdmDqw
x
This dish is absolutely beautiful! And it sounds delicious too…
Oooh, and with an egg? Heaven!
xo
This looks so lovely! What a great recipe! Love the mix of colors too! 🙂
http://sometimesgracefully.com
stir fry is so yummy i love having it for dinners as it’s filling and healthy 🙂
Lauren x
Britton Loves | Fashion Lifestyle + Photography – www.brittonloves.blogspot.co.uk
looks delicious…apt for summer..
xo
This sound specially delicious for summer!
I need sun, holidays, need the beach!