A delicious vegetarian weeknight dinner, this tofu bell pepper stir fry is ready in under 45 minutes and simple to make! Join me for an Instagram Live cooking class as I cook this stir fry on Monday, May 18th at 6pm EST.
This year I’ve been inspired more than ever to develop more vegetarian and vegan recipes. I eat a very balanced diet, but I’ve been trying to cook at least one vegetarian or vegan dinner and lunch each week.
It means that I’ve started to use more lentils and beans, but I’ve also been discovering ways to use tofu. The best way to learn how to cook specific ingredients? Read. Cook. Taste.
During my research, I was inspired by this stir fry recipe from Martha Rose Shulman in the New York Times.
I loved the combination of tofu and bell peppers and knew I could put a Living Lou twist on it and share it with you.
How do you make tofu delicious?
There are a few different tricks to making tofu delicious. First it’s important to press the tofu to remove the water. Because tofu comes packed in water, this process removes the liquid and will help avoid soggy tofu.
Start by draining the water, then wrap the tofu in paper towels, and weigh it down with something heavy (I use a cast iron skillet), and let sit for 15-30 minutes.
The other key to delicious tofu is to marinate it, to help it absorb flavour.
How long should you marinate tofu?
With tofu, any time is better than none! For this recipe I’ve found that 15 minutes is enough to add flavour and make this recipe quick enough for a weeknight. If you find yourself with ample time in the evening, you could marinate for 30 minutes.
If you don’t have time for a long marinate, try making tofu stir fry with zucchini and asparagus which uses tofu tossed in sriracha for a quick flavour boost.
Tofu Bell Pepper Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon canola oil, divided
- 1 onion, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Drain tofu and wrap in paper towel. Place something heavy on top (I use a cast iron skillet), and let sit for about 15 minutes. Once pressed, cut into 1" cubes.
- Meanwhile in a medium bowl, whisk soy sauce with hoisin, sugar and sesame oil. Toss with pressed and cubed tofu, and allow to marinate for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally to coat tofu. Remove tofu from marinate (reserve remaining marinade for the vegetables).
- Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a wok or a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and cook, stirring frequently until tofu starts to caramelize and turn a deep brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add remaining canola oil, onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion starts to brown and bell peppers have a few char marks on them. About 3 minutes. Vegetables should be a vibrant red and still have some crunch.
- Add garlic, ginger and chili flakes, continue cooking, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add remaining marinade and tofu back to pan. Toss to coat. Serve over rice with sesame seeds.
TJ
Any way to make this without the sugar or another way to make this work,?
TJ
Realizing my other comments didn’t show. I made this with half the sugar and really enjoyed it. I agree with the others who mentioned wanting to add more sauce which I will do the next time. Thanks for the easy recipe and helping me get my tofu right.
Louisa Clements
Hi TJ, you can leave the sugar out! It’s there to balance the flavour, but if you’re not a fan it will be ok without.
Mallory Williams
I am trying this recipe tonight! I cant wait to see how it turns out!!
jenna
Yummmmm, this is delicious!!! So simple to make too but tastes like it took some work ;) thank you!
Elizabeth
Delicious
Louisa Clements
So glad you enjoyed, ELizabeth! Thanks for letting me know!
Jennifer
So glad I found your recipe! I just made it today and it’s delicious. I doubled the marinade and tossed the tofu with cornstarch. Threw it in the air fryer (400 for about 5 minutes) before adding it to the vegetables. I’ll be making it often!
Louisa Clements
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jennifer! Great way to cook the tofu! Thanks for letting me know :)
Judith
I made it. It looked great and tasted good too. It’s a keeper.
Michael
New to using tofu in my diet. I enjoy bell peppers and onions so this was a nice combination. had to double the marinate but had time to let it marinate for 30 minutes. This is a nice base recipe, next time I’ll try it with orange sauce.
Gavin
I sprinkled some corn starch on the tofu just before adding to the oil. Makes it a bit crispier, but the sauce is a bit thicker. Still…….yummy!
Louisa Clements
So glad you enjoyed, Gavin! Cornstarch is a great trick for crispy tofu.
neli
I’ve made tofu a handful of times and this is my favorite way so far! I will say my tofu ended up soaking all the marinade so I’ll probably have to double the sauce. thanks for the recipe 😊
Louisa Clements
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Neli! It’s not an overly saucy stir fry, but you can absolutely double the marinade!
Gin
Pretty sure this was my first time cooking tofu, and it turned out great! I also can’t believe how inexpensive this dish was! It helps that I got the peppers on clearance for next to nothing, but even if I hadn’t this still would’ve been a quick and cheap four meals. In the future I think I’m going to double the marinade and save half to use as a sauce, because my one critique of this dish is that I found it quite mild and I really wanted more flavor. But the marinade is so delicious, easy, and cheap to make that it won’t be any hardship at all to double it for extra flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe, giving me something to do with my clearance peppers, and giving me an excuse to finally learn a tofu dish!
Erica
Can we sub with vegetable or olive oil instead of canola oil?
Louisa Clements
Hi Erica, I would recommend using vegetable oil as it has a higher smoke point than olive oil for this stir fry! I hope you enjoy.
Shirley Clements
This stir fry looks sooo delicious! Must make it!
Kim Truesdell
Excellent and easy recipe! Thank you for it.
Louisa Clements
So glad you enjoyed it, Kim!
Alisanne
This meal is fun to make, nutritious and delicious. As an Orthodox Christian, we fast – that is eat essentially like a vegan – at least twice a week. Sometime we fast for weeks. If it wasn’t for the oil, this would be perfect for that.
One think I would reiterate from the recipe is to make sure everything’s coated well before serving. We left quite a bit of yummy minced ginger and garlic in the pan. We’ll make sure the mix better next time.
Thank you so much for great recipes!
Louisa Clements
Thank you Alisanne, so glad that you enjoy that! And yes the sauce leftover in the pan is so delicious.
Fiori
I’ll have to give this a try. I saw you making it on Instagram LIVE. ?
Louisa Clements
So glad you were able to join me on IG live!I. hope you enjoy this recipe!
MindyC
I made the stir fry exactly as written and it came out fantastic! I served it on a bed of rice. I think toasted cashews would be a nice addition next time! Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
Louisa Clements
Thank you Mindy! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to let me know. :)