This tofu fried rice is packed with zucchini and is an easy enough recipe for a quick weeknight dinner.
Fried rice is underrated.
Or, at least I don’t think of it nearly enough for easy weeknight meals.
It’s forgiving.
You can literally throw whatever veggies or protein you have on hand in it and chances are it will still turn out delicious.
And, it produces a lot of leftovers with no extra effort.
Score.
The first night of my back injury Ulysses made dinner with limited guidance from me as I laid on the couch.
I love my husband and all but, let’s just say one night was enough.
Since I’m kind of house bound and just thinking about lifting a heavy grocery bag is making my back hurt, I had to work with what was on hand in our fridge.
A zucchini, a bag of carrots, frozen peas and a block of tofu that was nearing expiration.
Sounds like a good mixture for fried rice to me!
Can you cook rice?
Can you sauté veggies?
Can you crack an egg?
If so, you can make this tofu fried rice. It’s that simple.
Speaking of all those leftovers, wrapping them in raw chard leaves is an excellent idea.
I’ve seen the recent collard and chard wraps going around and sat there behind the computer screen raising an eyebrow thinking “there’s no way raw chard can taste good.”
Wrong.
I tried this yesterday and was blown away by how much I like the taste.
I actually think it tastes less earthy raw than it does cooked.
Many people say Swiss chard tastes like dirt and I can see where they’re coming from with that statement.
In it’s raw form though it’s definitely less dirt-like.
In case you need a reminder to wash your greens really well, I found the most disgusting bug in the actual bunch of chard when I laid it down for this picture.
See, I’m lazy and only washed the leaves I was actually eating. I’m impressed though, that little guy lived for 3 days in a plastic bag, in the refrigerator only for me to find him and subsequently flush him down the toilet.
I don’t save bugs.
Especially ones that have been eating my food.
And with that, enjoy!
MORE TOFU RECIPES TO TRY:
Balsamic Tofu Pasta Salad
Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu and Vegetables
BBQ Mango Tofu
Mapo Tofu
Tofu Zucchini Fried Rice
This tofu fried rice is packed with zucchini and is an easy enough recipe for a quick weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1 large zucchini, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 inch section of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 eggs, beaten
- soy sauce
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in medium sauce pan.
- Once boiling, add rice, turn heat to low and simmer until rice is fully cooked.
- While rice cooks, prepare vegetables.
- Saute onions, garlic and ginger until onions soften, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add zucchini, carrots and a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and continue to saute until vegetables soften, approximately 5-7 more minutes.
- Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl and set aside.
- Add more olive oil to the pan and saute tofu for a couple of minutes on each side with more soy sauce and salt & pepper.
- Once cooked, add tofu to cooked vegetables in bowl.
- When rice is fully cooked, add it to the pan with olive oil and fry for a couple of minutes. Add beaten eggs and break up to scramble.
- Once eggs are cooked, add vegetables and tofu back to pan, combine and garnish with peas, salt & pepper.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 247mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
What’s your favorite go-to meal for quick, easy weeknight dinners?
Vicky
Tuesday 17th of April 2012
Sounds delicious. Love that you then made it into a leaf wrap. I recently made collard wraps and was incredibly surprised by how good they tasted. Definitely know all about washing greens well! Last time I bought watercress I found a really creepy looking bug worm hiding in the leaves!
Beth (Well I'll Be)
Friday 22nd of July 2011
I love the idea of making this into wraps with the chard!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles
Thursday 21st of July 2011
I have some of that in the garden and never thought of making a wrap out of it!!! I'm going to make a shrimp taco right now!!!!! FOR REAL!! You win best idea of the day award! :P
Running to the Kitchen
Thursday 21st of July 2011
haha thanks Julie! Hope you like it!
Jayme @ Runner-n-Spice
Thursday 21st of July 2011
Ick, ive found bugs in lettuce and celery too! Yuck, eh.
These wraps looks delicious....yum!
Tessa @ Amazing Asset
Thursday 21st of July 2011
Okay so I have never tried fried rice.... not sure why?! But ought to now! Thank you for the recipe Gina