Tofu-Veggie Stir Fry with Orange Ginger Sauce

Fresh veggies abound at the peak of summer, and there’s nothing more tasty (or nutritious) than a stir-fry. I know this recipe looks long and complicated. It does call for quite a few ingredients, but the technique is really simple and entails only a few steps.

One tip: Make sure you have everything washed, peeled and chopped before you start cooking. The French call this “mise en place,” which basically means “have your act together before you fire up the stove.” (Literally, it means “everything in its place.”)

We start with peanut oil because peanut oil has a high smoke point, which is the temperature at which an oil starts to smoke and burn. This will allow you to heat your pan to an extremely high temperature so that your veggies cook quickly without getting mushy. Veggies in a good stir fry should retain some of their raw snap.

Sesame oil, Chinese five spice and fresh ginger give this stir-fry a distinctly Asian flair.

Tofu Veggie Stir Fry with Orange Ginger Sauce

1/4 cup peanut oil
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, thick-cut julienned
1 small onion, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 serrano chile, minced (optional)
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 tomato, chopped
4 large leaves green chard
2 heads baby bok choy, leaves separated
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
kernels from 1 ear corn
12 oz medium tofu, cubed
6 ounces orange juice
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
3 tablespoons water

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large heavy-bottomed pan until very hot. Add the next seven ingredients, broccoli through the minced chile. Pour the sesame oil and soy sauce over the vegetables as they cook. Sprinkle the mixture with Chinese five spice. When the carrots and broccoli have started to soften slightly, add the next six ingredients, tomato through tofu. Cook a few minutes longer until the greens start to wilt. Add the orange juice and sugar. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender.

Combine the corn starch and water in a small dish, stir until the corn starch is dissolved. Add the corn starch mixture to the stir fry, stirring constantly until the sauce starts to thicken.

Season with salt and pepper flakes to taste, and serve over cooked rice. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.