When it comes to Chinese food, I’ve noticed that most people are exceptionally loyal to the beef and broccoli bowl. For me, I was never enticed by it, I always perceived the combo as being bland (not too mention beef grossed me out big time)! Thankfully, as a vegetarian, most every dish that typically contains meat, can be transformed into a super delicious feast. Our version of the beef and broccoli bowl has a few new twists, including of course (DUH) no beef. Instead of using beef we substitute tofu; however, a ground vegan “beef” works great too. We added some mushrooms, the one and only Trader Joe’s brand Soyaki sauce, and brown rice for an incredibly satisfying dinner. Enjoy!
Beef-less broccoli stir fry (makes roughly 2 1/2 servings)
What you’ll need:
2 cups water
1 cup jasmine brown rice (regular brown rice is okay too although not as soft as jasmine)
cooking spray or 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil (canola oil is great)
1 tsp iodized sea salt
4 tablespoons Trader Joe’s brand soyaki sauce (if you do not have a TJ’s in your area–2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons teryaki sauce will work just fine.)
1 tsp teaspoon honey
1 cup mushrooms (preferably crimini mushrooms)
1 cup broccoli
half block of firm tofu, diced into small cubes (fine to substitute with vegan crumbled beef or to omit altogether)
Bring water to a rolling boil in a large heavy duty pot. Once boiling, add the brown rice. Reduce to medium heat to simmer, and stir occasionally. If necessary, add more water. Sprinkle in iodized sea salt. Rice generally takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
As the rice is cooking, bust out your wok or large frying pan. Spray the pan with the canola oil or evenly coat with 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Turn on burner to medium heat. Add mushrooms, broccoli, cubed tofu, and soyaki sauce. Stir-fry for about ten-fifteen minutes, periodically adding drops of oil to maintain moisture in the wok/pan. (Of course don’t go crazy adding oil, only add if the food starts sticking to the pan–keep it low fat kids) Once everything is tender, turn off the burner. Sprinkle the honey across the food for a nice sweet finish. (Trust us…it tastes superb)
Fifteen minutes later, your rice will be done. Pour food from wok/pan into pot with the rice. Stir together gently, making sure to not mash the tofu cubes.
And there you go. a truly delectable Chinese feast. If you want to be legit, eat with chopsticks. Otherwise just be lame and use a fork. 😉
We garnished with chili garlic sauce, but use sparingly so as to not let it take over the flavor of the dish.
govegetarianista86