tofu and rice noodle stir fry

If you don't identify as a tofu lover, or you see stir fry as being kind of 'meh', you haven't tried it like this. This is the best technique for making juicy, crispy, flavorful bites of tofu, and will change just about anyone's mind.  I make it all the time, because I can use whatever vegetables I have, and always keep rice noodles (or rice) and frozen tofu around. Once you get the hang of this, you can make a great meal in less than an hour, and have delicious leftovers for lunch.

tofu technique-

Freeze the tofu.  Plan on always keeping a tub or two of it frozen, because they're super useful.  You can either: freeze it right in the plastic sealed tub (the lazy way), or open, cube, and drain it on towels (totally better),  and the freeze it in a microwave safe dish.  

When you're ready to cook it, thaw it in the microwave until its warm throughout, drain, and cube it (if you didn't before you froze it), then gently squeeze most of the water out in a terry cloth kitchen towel or three flour sack towels.

Pan fry in some oil in a non-stick or stainless pan, until most of the sides are golden brown. Then season it based on what you're doing with it.  

Stir Fry Ingredients-

• 1/2 pack of rice noodles- the wider 1/4" flat ones are my favorite, but any will work, and cooked sticky rice will also work if you want fried rice.  To cook the noodles, bring a pan of hot water to a boil.  Put the noodles in, turn off the heat, cover and let them sit for up to 10 minutes, until they're just barely chewy.  Drain and rinse in cold water in a colander. 
• 3 or so vegetables: about 1-2 cups of each, depending on how much they cook down.  My favorites are: onion, carrot, red pepper,  or cabbage (napa, red or green), but you could also use baby or fresh corn, sweet peppers-- just make sure the flavors and colors go together.  Trader Joe's Soycatash is a good easy choice, or even the frozen veggie stir fry blends if you're crunched for time.
• Sauce: customize the recipe (Below), and whisk it up ahead of time in a mug or pyrex measuring cup so its quick and ready to pour
• Your cooked tofu 

Stir Fry Sauce-

1/2 Cup Rice Wine -or- Rice Vinegar (depending on what you want)

1/4 Cup soy sauce 

1 tsp minced ginger

2 Tblsp toasted dark sesame oil

2Tblsp Southeast Asian Chili Garlic Sauce (Sriracha or Sambal work)

Whisk together in a mug or pyrex measurer. Add any one of the following additions, depending on what you're looking for: Finely ground black pepper, a bit of hoisin sauce, peanut butter (you'll have to warm it up a little), sesame seeds, spicy mustard (even dijon works), thinly sliced green onions, a bit of plum or apricot jam instead of the soy sauce, and use the rice vinegar for a sweet and sour sauce.

Stir Fry method-

In a hot large pan with plenty of oil, fry the onions on medium high heat until they start to soften and get translucent, keep the heat up high enough to get a quick sizzle when you add anything.  Next, add the harder vegetables and fry until they start to soften.  During the frying, resist the urge to keep moving the stuff around in the pan too much-- that makes it mushy.  When the veggie is starting to brown on its edge, then gently toss the veggies with a spatula. If you're using a smaller pan, put the cooked veggies on a plate as soon as they're cooked so each batch of veggies can get seared without turning to mush.

Once the veggies are done, add the tofu back in until its warmed up.  Then, dump your noodles or rice on top, and let the droplets of water sizzle in the pan for a minute.  Pour your stir fry sauce over the top, and leave it until it works its way to the pan and sizzles.  Then, gently toss the whole thing a few times, allowing some time for the noodles and sauce to cook and caramelize. Again, the trick is to allow the noodles and sauce to cook until crispy and brown, without turning it so much it sticks together.

To finish, top with bean sprouts, chopped unsalted peanuts, or sesame seeds, or chopped fresh herbs.