Vegan Latest: Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for tofu fried rice with green cabbage

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for tofu fried rice with green cabbage

From theguardian.com

This one-pan wonder is perfect for those evenings when you don’t want to cook but need something warm and comforting with minimum effort

Last July, I took a cooking class in Bangkok. I was making the food of my dreams, but it was a long day and I was tired from pounding pastes and milking coconuts. I asked the cooks: do you eat like this at home? No, they said. One liked to eat eggs and rice, another enjoyed noodles. Which brings me to today’s recipe: although there are many wonderful things I could make for dinner, when I want something fast and good, I often make fried rice. Sometimes, it has diced carrots and broccoli, at other times tofu and leafy greens – and it comes together quickly, even when you’re too tired to cook.

Tofu fried rice with savoy cabbage

You’ll need a wide frying or saute pan with a tight-fitting lid. This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite recipes written originally for Ocado.

Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min (or 50 min if cooking the rice from scratch)
Serves 4

600g cold, cooked rice, or 300g jasmine rice
450ml hot vegetable stock, suitable for vegans (optional, and only if you’re cooking the rice from scratch)
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ savoy cabbage, or january king, or spring greens, shredded (400g)
1 tsp Chinese five-spice
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
350g silken tofu, drained
Sriracha or goma dare sauce, to serve

If you are using cooked rice, skip this first step. Otherwise, put the jasmine rice in a sieve and rinse it under the cold tap until the water runs clear. Tip into a saucepan, add the hot stock and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to a whisper and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat, leave, still covered, to steam for five to 10 minutes, then lift off the lid, fluff up with a fork and set aside to cool.

Put the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the onion and fry, stirring, for about eight minutes, until softened and browning. Add the garlic, cook, still stirring, for a couple of minutes, then add the shredded cabbage and fry on a low heat, stirring every now and then, for five to seven minutes, until the cabbage has wilted. Stir in the five-spice, salt, sesame oil and soy sauce, then crumble the tofu into the pan. Fry, stirring, for a couple of minutes more, until all the ingredients are well mixed, then stir in the rice – I use a spaghetti spoon to do this, so as not to break up the rice much.

Cook until the rice is hot and all the ingredients are well acquainted, then heap on to plates and serve with sriracha or goma sauce drizzled on top.