Easy Bok Choy and Tofu Stir-Fry

This easy bok choy and tofu stir-fry recipe uses richly-flavored teriyaki marinade or hoisin sauce and squeeze-bottle ginger as shortcuts to great flavor. With minimal chopping to do, whether you use baby or regular bok choy, it will be ready in minutes.

Complete the meal: Accompany this easy dish of stir-fried bok choy and tofu with a simple salad of your choice (try Sesame Ginger Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw) and hot cooked rice or rice noodles. A plate of sliced oranges is a lovely finish.

Tips for Easy Bok Choy and Tofu Stir-Fry

Choose your marinade: You’ll find teriyaki marinade in the Asian foods section of supermarkets and natural foods stores. Teriyaki marinade has more body and flavor than soy sauce. Choose a brand of teriyaki marinade with natural ingredients.

Try Korean BBQ Marinade for a change of pace. I like to err on the side of using less sauce in the stir-fry so that it doesn’t get watery. You can always pass around extra sauce to finish individual servings.

What kind of tofu is best for this recipe? It’s best to use extra-firm tofu. If you use tofu regularly, minimize your use of paper towels by investing in a tofu press. This nifty gadget is worth every penny, and lasts forever!

Have you tried bottled ginger? I’ve all but given up on fresh ginger — I find it so unpredictable! It’s either nice and juicy and grates easily, or else it’s a dry, stringy mess.

How great that fresh-tasting pureed or minced ginger has become readily available — often found in the produce section of supermarkets. I love the flavor of ginger and now I can use it to my heart’s content without the fuss.

More about bok choy

Bok choy is arguably one of the most widely available varieties of Asian greens in the western market. The term “bok choy” is generally used for the larger kind, with crisp white stalks and dark leaves.

Baby bok choy, is great, too. It’s a smaller version, with stems and leaves of a fairly uniform, pale green hue. Either variety is a kind of twofer: A crisp veggie and leafy greens in one neat package.

Either of the common varieties of bok choy are equally good raw in salads or very lightly cooked in stir-fries and Asian-style soups.

When it comes to cooking, the less the better — the leaves wilt quickly and the stems are best when still crisp. So the watchword is quick — add last and don’t cook for more than a minute unless it’s in a braised preparation. See more in this site’s Guide to Bok Choy.

Recipe adapted from Plant Power by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

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Yield: 3

Easy Bok Choy and Tofu Stir-Fry

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This quick bok choy tofu stir-fry uses two of my favorite shortcuts — teriyaki marinade and ginger that comes out of a squeeze bottle or jar.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 14-ounce tub extra-firm tofu
• 1 to 2 tablespoons high-heat oil, such as safflower
• 2 larger or 4 to 6 smaller baby bok choy
• 3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, sliced
• 1/4 cup teriyaki marinade or hoisin sauce, plus more to pass around
• 2 teaspoons minced or pureed ginger (from a jar or squeeze bottle)
• 4 to 6 ounces baby spinach, arugula, or power greens

Optional additions

• Hot cooked grain (rice or quinoa) for serving
• Roasted peanuts, toasted cashews, or sesame seeds for topping
• Sriracha or dried red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. If you have a tofu press and can plan a little ahead of time, press the tofu. Otherwise, cut the tofu block into 8 slices crosswise and blot very well with a clean tea towel or paper towels.
2. Cut each of the tofu slices into strips or dice into bite-sized cubes.
3. Heat the oil in a stir-fry pan or large skillet. When nice and hot, add the tofu. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until golden brown on most sides.
4. Meanwhile, cut larger baby bok choy in half lengthwise, then slice about 1/2 inch thick crosswise (discard the stem end), leaves included. Or, if the bok choy are tiny, just cut in half lengthwise. Either way, rinse well in a colander to remove grit.
5. Add the bok choy along with the remaining ingredients (except the optional ones) and stir-fry over high heat for just another minute or so, until the bok choy leaves are bright green.
6. Serve at once on its own or over hot cooked grain. Pass around extra teriyaki sauce for serving, and if you’d like, some nuts for topping and sriracha or red pepper flakes to spice up the dish.

Notes

Variations: Add other vegetables and/or mushrooms to this dish. Red bell pepper strips and sliced shiitake mushrooms are great addtions. Add after step 3, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes before adding the bok choy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 302Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 846mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 9gSugar: 9gProtein: 24g

Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and specific products used.

If you enjoy bok choy, you might like …

Braised Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms

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