Stir-Fried Tofu and Bok Choi

I made this a few days ago and all three of us absolutely loved it. It took an hour and a half (!) to make, but I think it was worth it. When making it in the future, though, I think I'd make a double or even triple batch; that'll take longer to make, but the time increase should be sublinear and the single batch I made vanished shockingly fast.

Most of the time spent making it was in preparation. I started disassembling, washing, dividing, and slicing the bok choi while the tofu was draining, and I had finished those and was about halfway through the carrots when the tofu was done cooking. Definitely give this one a lot of lead time unless you have sliced bok choi and julienned carrots already lying around.

Ingredients (Sauce)

• 128mL vegetable broth
• 64mL soy sauce
• 32mL Chinese rice wine
• 16mL sugar
• 5mL sesame oil
• 10mL corn starch

Ingredients (Stir-Fry)

• 500g extra firm tofu, cut into 2cm cubes
• 85mL cornstarch
• 3 green onions or half of a white onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 15mL ginger paste
• 45mL canola oil
• 500g bok choi, cleaned, stalks and greens separated, greens cut into 2cm strips and stalks thinly sliced
• 2 large carrots, peeled, cut into 5cm lengths, and julienned

Procedure

1. Spread tofu out over paper towels and let drain for 20 minutes; pat dry.
2. While tofu is drying:
   - Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl, slowly whisking in the corn starch; set aside.
   - Combine onions, garlic, ginger, and 5mL of oil in a bowl; set aside.
   - This is also a good time to finish slicing the bok choi and carrots.
3. Toss tofu with cornstarch until well coated.
4. Heat 30mL oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the tofu and cook until crisp and well browned on all sides, ~15 minutes. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon.
5. Add the remaining oil, the bok choi stems, and the carrots and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are crisp-tender, ~4 minutes.
6. Clear the center of the skillet and add the onion-garlic mix. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds, then stir together with vegetables.
7. Stir in tofu and bok choi greens.
8. Whisk sauce to recombine, then stir into skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes.