Garlic and Chilli Tofu Fried Rice

Suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Serves 2.

The base of this recipe is extremely simple; soft tofu and rice. This makes it an excellent recipe for using up leftover rice and any other greens or veggies you have on hand. Here, I used some beautiful purple kale and garnished with scallions and a charred head of bok choy, but you could easily throw in spinach, mushrooms, peppers, whatever brings you joy.

The key here is using the right tofu. You can often find tetrapak cartons of soft or silken tofu in the asian food section of grocery stores. This kind is perfect as it breaks up easily in the pan and kind of turns into a sauce. It absorbs flavour beautifully and adds body to the dish. A perfect scrambled egg substitute. Other tofu that is too firm will just hold its shape as it cooks.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 cup white rice, 
• 2 large handfuls kale leaves, removed from stem and slightly torn, 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced, 
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced, 
• 250/300g (1 carton) soft tofu, 
• 2 tbsp curry powder, 
• 1 tsp turmeric, 
• 1 tsp nigella seeds, 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, 
• 0.24 tsp sesame oil, 
• 1 head bok choy, cut in half lengthways, 
• Thinly sliced scallion to garnish.

Method:

• Add rice to a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil and then let simmer, covered,  for 20 minutes or until cooked. If you are using leftover rice, simply skip this step and add 1 cup of cooked rice later on.
• Meanwhile, place a skillet over medium high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add kale and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to soften. Add a tbsp or so of water to help it wilt, but not so much that pools start to form in the pan. You only want the steam, not a wet pan.
• Add the garlic and chilli and cook for and additional 2 minutes or until fragrant.
• Add the tofu and scramble it into the other ingredients. You should get  mixture resembling scrambled eggs.
• Add the curry powder, turmeric, nigella seeds, soy sauce, and sesame oil and mix to combine.
• Add the rice and mix well.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the pan onto a plate.
• Give the skillet a quick wipe and place it back on the heat with some fresh oil. Add the bok choy halves, cut side down, to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes or until they get slightly charred.
• Plate the bok choy to the side of the rice and garnish with scallions. Serve while hot and have Sriracha on hand.