Chinese Orange Tofu & Vegetables

You can probably tell by now (if you check my blog on any kind of semi-regular basis) that I love to stir fry. All of the world's evils can be corrected with a wok, tofu, vegetables, and some rip-off Chinese sauce. I'm normally pretty boring and make the garlic sauce 5 out of 6 times (it's just that good! and easy!), but I decided to splurge and cook the poet something different for a celebratory "you just got through your first day back to teaching" meal.

Since I'd been grocery shopping at the Dekalb Farmer's Market fairly recently, I had a lovely head of organic bok choi on hand, as well as several blocks of tofu, and mushrooms. I thought about the sauces I love at Green Sprout (can anyone say garlic broccoli?!?! It's so addicting) and remembered a tangy orange sauce they serve on certain dishes. The sauce I made isn't exactly like the one at Green Sprout, but it's pretty heavenly. I'm heavy on the spices, so if you don't like spicy food, I'd definitely cut the crushed red pepper down to 1 tsp or less.

Chinese Orange Tofu & Vegetables

For the sauce:
2/3 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp crushed red chili peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp powdered ginger

For the stir-fry:
1 16 oz block of extra-firm organic tofu, cut into thin 1x1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 head of organic bok choi, chopped into 1 inch pieces
8 oz button mushrooms, halved and quartered (depending on size)
vegetable oil for cooking

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Dry fry the tofu. I divide to tofu into 2 batches to do this. Once cooked to the way you like it, set aside on a plate to add to the stir-fry later.

In a wok, heat up 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil on medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 6-7 minutes or until the onion turns clear and soft. Add the mushrooms and previously cooked tofu. After 3-4 minutes, add the bok choi. Cook everything until tender.

Add the sauce to the wok and cook everything for 1-2 minutes.

Serve over rice.