Sweet & Sour Pineapple Stir-fry

I’ve made this recipe many times now and I just love it! Besides baking the tofu, the rest of it is pretty quick to throw together.

Adapted from a recipe by Elephantastic Vegan.

Ingredients

Servings: enough for 2 full dinner bowls

1 block extra firm tofu
2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 cups broccoli florets
¼ cup water
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced (medallion or on the bias)
½ – 1 red bell pepper (I usually use a whole one), julienned
1 garlic clove (or 1 tsp. from a jar)
dash of sea salt
2 tsps. reduced sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s aminos
green onions, chopped

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

1 tbs. corn starch
1 tbs. water
2/3 cup of pineapple juice from canned pineapple
1 tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. tomato paste
¾ tsp. apple cider vinegar
½ tsp. soy sauce or Bragg’s aminos
¼ tsp sea salt, more to taste
1/3 to ½ can of pineapple tidbits or chunks (tidbits way better!), no added sugar or syrup

Note: For a lot of pineapple/sweet flavor add more pineapple juice and pineapple bits. For a more savory flavor add extra soy sauce.

Directions

If you haven’t started cooking your rice, do that first!

1. Set the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the tofu into small cubes and spread it out around the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes (the longer it goes the more the tofu dries out, but 30 minutes is fine).

Making the Sauce

2. In a saucepan, combine the pineapple juice, brown sugar, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and sea salt. Whisk it and let it cook over medium heat for several minutes.

3. Whisk together the tablespoons of water and cornstarch. (easy mode: do it in a small measure cup and whisk with a fork). Add it to the saucepan and whisk it all together. Let the sauce cook until it’s noticeably thickened – a sort of gel-like goopy consistency. Then add the pineapple chunks and mix it together. Turn the heat off and let it sit.

Cooking the veggies

4. In a large pan, over medium heat, add the broccoli and some of the ¼ cup of water (add more as needed). Place a lid over it to let the broccoli steam and soften.

5. Add the carrots, bell pepper, garlic, sea salt, and 2 tsps. of soy sauce (add a few more splashes of soy if you want this the stir-fry to be more savory than sweet). Cook everything until just softened and the garlic is slightly brown.

(Optional) 6. If you want, you can scoop the rice directly into the veggies at this point and mix it all together. Or you can serve the veggies over the rice. Whichever way is fine.