Orange Tofu Stir Fry

Everyone’s sick! This was the craziest beginning of a New Year in a while! Aimee had to rush off to Arizona to take care of her mother-in-law who had open heart surgery. Thankfully, after a rough week, she’s doing much better. Mai-yan and I both got stuck with typical winter illnesses. I found out that one of my best friends is in the hospital sick this week as well and the list goes on.

I always get a little excited when I go too far in the wrong direction with my health or goals, because it means it will be easy to see improvements once I start trying again. I know this is a strange way to look at things, but it can be a motivating way to see where I’m currently at. After several weeks of being snowed in and cooped up in a house filled with heavy holiday foods and illness, my first day back climbing yesterday was rough. But the satisfaction of how tired I was at the end of the day, and how sore my muscles were today was unavoidable. It excited me enough to get up and go to yoga class today. One step in the right direction leads to the another.

We know it’s a pretty typical new year’s resolution to getting healthy, but we aim to stick to our goals time around. One way we plan to get healthy is to strengthen our overall immunity levels, and there are plenty of foods out there that brag about their abilities to do so. This recipe is filled with immunity-boosting oranges and mushrooms, and is as hearty and flavorful as recipes come. You don’t need to wait until you feel under the weather to enjoy it. In fact, please don’t! Make this to protect yourself so you can fully enjoy any experience you have planned.

Orange Tofu Stir Fry

Yield

4 servings

Prep Time / Cook Time

15 minutes / 10-20 minutes

Activity Guide

Car Camping

Ingredients

• 3 oranges (organic, if possible, since you’ll be using the zest)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 pound tofu, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2-4 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced

Tools

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Microplane grater or zester
• Skillet
• Plate
• 2 bowls
• Spatula or Tongs

Method

1. Grate and juice ONE orange into a bowl and then add garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Slice out the segments of remaining two oranges. Set aside.
2. Toss your tofu in cornstarch. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir fry the tofu until golden brown, working in batches and adding more oil as needed. Set aside.
3. Saute the mushrooms and any other veggies you choose to add (yellow peppers, mango, broccoli all taste great) until tender. Set aside in same bowl as the tofu.
4. Pour the juice mixture into the skillet and lower the heat to medium. Cook until thick and syrupy.
   Stir in tofu along with veggies, orange slices, and scallions and coat evenly with sauce. Serve over rice.