Peanut ginger tofu stir fry is an easy vegan dinner recipe. Tofu is smothered in a sweet and tangy peanut sauce and served with broccoli and green beans.
This year I’m trying to incorporate more plant-based meals into our weekly routine, to lessen our environmental impact. We used to eat meat 6-7 nights a week, and now I’m trying to make vegetarian or vegan meals 3 nights a week.
Well after eating a lot of beans (A LOT!), it was time to branch out to tofu. I have just not had the best luck with tofu in the past and there has been a lot of trial and error in cooking with it.
HOWEVER. I’m super excited to be sharing this peanut ginger tofu stir fry with you today because it is the bomb.com. Seriously, even the pickiest four year old ate (and enjoyed!) it!
We love this peanut ginger tofu stir fry because
- if you get the tofu pressed earlier in the day, it’s a SUPER fast weeknight dinner
- the sauce completely masks the tofu flavor (which is just not a flavor we enjoy!)
- even kids enjoyed it!
How to prepare & cook your tofu
For this recipe, we are using extra firm tofu. You will realize if you bought the wrong type of tofu when you go to press it…says the girl who accidentally tried to press silken tofu (ha ha!!)
- Press your tofu– see the image above for my set up. I sandwich the block of tofu between two paper towels and two plates, and put a 28 oz can on top of the top plate. Press for at least 30 minutes, often I will press my tofu for several hours while I am working or doing other things in the afternoon so that it’s ready for cooking when I’m ready to cook dinner.
- Cut your tofu into small cubes– I first cut the block horizontally into three slabs, then in 1/2 inch or smaller cubes. I find the larger 1 inch cubes taste too much like tofu. Maybe one day I’ll learn to love the flavor of tofu 😉
- Fry it up– I cooked for 15 or so minutes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Slather it in sauce- obviously the most important step 😉
What goes well with this peanut ginger tofu stir fry? We served ours with green beans & broccoli florets, which I sauteed for 5-7 minutes before cooking the tofu. You could use almost any vegetable…consider this a ‘clean out the fridge’ meal! Bok choy, carrots, bell peppers, snap peas would all be good. It would be great served with cauliflower rice, or you can check out my tutorial on how to cook perfect fluffy rice if you are looking for that perfect rice to serve this tofu stir fry over.
Can I switch up the sauce? Absolutely! I bet this stir fry tofu would be great with any one of the sauces in this post with 7 Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipes.
Does this stir fry tofu work for meal prep? It does work for meal prep, however I will warn you that the peanut sauce does get slightly dry as it sits in the fridge. However the flavor is still soooo good!
Tips and Equipment for perfect tofu stir fry
- You can use a standard non stick pan like I did or go traditional and use a wok
for this recipe! - Meal prep containers: I love these ones!
- Looking for more tofu recipes? Try this Air Fryer Tofu, this Easy Baked Tofu Recipe and this Tofu Scramble Recipe!
for this recipe!
!
Peanut Ginger Tofu Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 4 cups green beans & broccoli
- 1 block extra firm tofu (350 g/ 12.5 oz)
Peanut Ginger Sauce
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Prepare the tofu: remove from package, drain all water, and sandwich between two paper towels and two plates. Place a heavy item like a can on the top plate. Press for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the pressed tofu horizontally into three slabs, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Shake together all peanut ginger sauce ingredients, and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick pan or wok over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 5-7 minutes, until slightly tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Heat another 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. Add the tofu cubes and cook, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides. This takes around 15 minutes.
- Pour peanut ginger sauce over the tofu. Remove from heat and toss to coat. Serve with sauteed vegetables over rice.
Diane
I just made this is and it was delicious! I baked the tofu first, I used almond butter instead of peanut butter, added a little extra red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and ginger because I thought the sauce was a little too sweet, and I added broccoli, red pepper, and sugar snap peas, and peanuts. It reminded me a lot of a almond butter tofu stir fry with string beans. It was really good and my daughter loved it!
Denise
Hi Diane! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed. Thank you for coming back and leaving a review with the changes you’ve made…this is so helpful!
Nicky Goodyer
Thanks for this, potentially silly question ,just wanted to check 330 calories does that include the rice ?
Denise
Hi Nicky! It does not include rice. For 3/4 cup uncooked rice (140 g), it will work out to about 1/2 cup cooked rice per serving and 116 extra calories. Hope this helps!
Shannon
Thanks for the tofu press idea to squeeze out the liquid. I usually give it a quick squeeze between paper towels, cut it up and bake in a low oven for 30 – 40 minutes to take out the liquid and firm it up for the stir-fry. It does heat up the kitchen though, so it would be great to be able to cut down the oven time.
Denise
It seems to work, although I wonder if baking might work even better! I might have to try 🙂
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite
I love a good peanut sauce! Plus it uses staple ingredients I always have on hand 🙂
Denise
Peanut sauce is the best! Thanks Brittany 🙂