Stir-fry Tofu with String Beans

This Stir-fry Tofu with String Beans recipe will show you how to make a delicious recipe by using string beans and tofu. this Stir-fry Tofu with String Beans is rich with nutrition’s and mineral and is very suitable for those who loves vegetarian food as well as for those who love to consume more vegetables with their nonvegetarian dish Need some extra fiber? Try this stir fry tofu with string beans recipe! This vegetarian dish is light with the tummy but is jam packed with vitamins and minerals! Plus, it uses a the meat alternative tofu which is a good source of protein. Eat without guilt! The crunchiness of the string beans and the crispy crust and soft inside of the tofu will surely best paired with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

STIR FRY TOFU RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces tofu (cut into thick sticks)
• 2 bunches of string beans (cut into shorter sticks)
• 1 small carrots (cut into thin strips)
• Red bell peppers (cut into thin strips)
• Cornstarch (for coating)
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 onion (minced)
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• Slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch + ⅓ cup of water)

Directions:

1. Prepare the tofu and cut into serving pieces. Prepare a wide plate and add the cornstarch. Coat each of the tofu with cornstarch. Heat a lot of oil in a pan and deep fry them until golden brown and crispy. Transfer them to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil.
2. Heat some oil on a separate pan. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few seconds until aromatic. Add the string beans and saute for a minute. Then, add the carrots and saute. Season with some soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper. Cover the pan and let the veggies simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until the beans are half cooked.
3. Adjust the taste using sugar (optional). Add the bell peppers and pour the slurry. Saute for a few more seconds. Add more water if you like it saucy.
4. Then, add the fried tofu. Gently toss to coat them well with the sauce. Turn the heat off.
5. Transfer the stir fry tofu with string beans to a serving plate. Serve this as a side dish or as a topper to a bowl of hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS A TOFU?

In other words, tofu is soy bean curd. Have you ever seen a soy bean? It is quite rare in our market. But did you know that the taho na nilalako in the morning, the white soft one, is made from soy bean? Yep, you are eating the very soft and jelly like version of the tofu. AND, did you know that the soy sauce is made from fermented soy beans? That is why it is called soy sauce! Mind blowing! So if you dip your tofu in soy sauce, then you are a legit soy bean fan even if you don’t know it. 

Now, let me give you an idea on how tofu is made. If you have seen a soy bean, then a pack of soybeans are first dried, and then soaked in water. After soaking, it is crushed and boiled, then some acid is added to form it into curds. These curds are then pressed into square shape, which is why you often see tofu as a square block.

Did you know the the protein source of the tofu is comparable to meat? Tofu is one of the best meat alternatives. When we say meat alternatives, these are options which are vegetarian or vegan (non-animal based product).  So for vegans, vegetarians or those with red meat restrictions, using tofu as an ulam is a very smart move.

STIR FRY TOFU WITH STRING BEANS

As we get older, so do our parents. Since they are more prone to hypertension, I have been doing some shifts with the food items I am using with my dish lately. As someone who is very conscious with the heart health, creating some dishes which does not use too much oil and fatty ingredients would be a great help.

Said goodbye to red meats and fatty portions (I will miss you my liempo), my menu plan for this week includes all veggie dishes. Every meal must be balanced with the carbs, proteins and fats so instead of meat, I will be using tofu. With my newly harvested string beans from the garden, these two main ingredients will really make a great dish.

Tofu is one of the most underrated ingredients from the market. A small block of this food can feed a lot of people when cooked. Its taste is rich and mild, and is best when coated with some umami sauce (especially the oyster sauce). Adding tofu to a string bean recipe will make it protein-nacious and healthier.

If you are also conscious with your heart health and wanna eat veggies for fiber, read and follow the simple steps below. Yum!

HOW TO MAKE STIR FRY TOFU WITH STRING BEANS

Making some crunchy stir fry tofu with string beans is super duper easy to make. With its name, all you need to do is to stir fry everything until every ingredient comes together as one.

To start, get the freshest tofu. Usually, these are the ones in the veggie area of the market. You can opt to buy the packed ones from the grocery but make sure to look at the expiration date. Fresh tofu is white and firm, with no smell.

Next, gather some string beans from the garden. If you want to add other veggies to this dish, feel free to do so. In this recipe, I added some red bell peppers and carrots. You can also add some green bell peppers for more colors.

Cut the tofu into sticks (or cubes if you like) and then the string beans into shorter strips. Before we start the actual stir frying, lets deep fry the tofu first. If we directly add them to the pan with the other ingredients, chances are they will not cook properly and the would crumble into pieces.

The next steps would include adding the ingredients one by one until all ingredients are well stir fried. To make this dish a little sauce, add some water and slurry with some oyster sauce. Oyster sauce really goes well with dishes like this. In the end, add the fried tofu and make sure that they are also well coated with the sauce.

I love having this dish as an appetizer or a light snack if I don’t feel like eating heavy. But still, this stir fried tofu with string beans is best paired with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

Stir-fry Tofu with String Beans Recipe (TAGALOG)

Mga Sangkap:

• 4 piraso ng tokwa (hiniwa ng makakapal na sticks)
• 2 bugkos ng sitaw (hiniwa ng mas maliliit na sticks)
• 1 maliit na carrot (hiniwa ng maliliit na strips)
• red bell pepper (hiniwa ng maninipis na strips)
• cornstarch (pang coating)
• 4 kutsara ng toyo
• 2 kutsara ng oyster sauce
• 1 sibuyas
• 3 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• 1 kutsarita ng asukal (optional)
• Slurry (1 kutsara ng cornstarch + ⅓ tasa ng tubig)

Paano Lutuin:

1. Ihanda ang tokwa at hiwain sa serving pieces. Maghanda ng malapad na pinggan at ilagay ang cornstarch. I-coat ang tokwa ng cornstarch. Magpainit ng maraming mantika at ideep fry ang mga tokwa hanggang maging golden brown at crispy. Ilipat ang mga ito sa strainer o paper towel para tumulo ang sobrang mantika.
2. Magpainit ng mantika sa isa pang kawali. Ilagay ang bawang at sibuyas saka igisa ng ilang segundo hanggang maging mabango. Sunod na ilagay ang mga sitaw at igisa. Isunod ang carrots, oyster sauce at timplahan ng paminta. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong maluto ng 3-5 minutes o hanggang malapit nang maluto ang mga sitaw.
3. Tikman ito at iadjust ang lasa gamit ang asukal (optional). Ilagay ang bell peppers at ang slurry. Haluin ito ng konti at lagyan ng tubig para maging saucy.
4. Ilagay ang pritong tokwa. Haluin ito para malagyan ng sauce. Patayin ang apoy.
5. Ilipat ang stir fry tofu with string beans sa serving plate. Ihain ito bilang side dish o samahan ng mainit na kanin. Yum!