Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice
Got a bunch of veggies in the fridge in desperate need to be used up? This Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice is the perfect solution for you!
That’s the way it goes, isn’t it? Whenever you find yourself with a bunch of veggies in the fridge that desperately need to be used up, you immediately think “Fried Rice”. Well, at least that’s the way it goes for me… The good thing with fried rice is that it’s so versatile, you can throw in just about any vegetables you happen to have on hand that day. Or protein, for that matter!
While I must admit that the veggies I had in the fridge that day are particularly well suited and worked especially good in this dish, feel totally free to swap things around. The only thing you must keep in mind is that you should always work in “layers” and add your veggies according to how long they take to cook, starting with the slowest cooking first, and finishing with those that barely require any cooking at all. Follow this simple rule and you’ll be good to go. Even ratios of rice to veggies aren’t that important; you can’t really go wrong here, just follow your own preference… Likewise, feel free to use a different kind of protein, or a different variety of nut, if you don’t care for the ones I used.
Just let your imagination go nuts and make cleaning the fridge fun and delicious!
Another very important rule to follow if you’re gonna whip up a good Fried Rice is: be sure that all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you even think of cooking anything; When those ingredients start to hit the skillet, things go kinda fast and there will be no time to stop.
Me, I like to group my ingredients by cooking time and place each group in their own specific plate, too, so that way I don’t even have to think about it when comes time to add the next batch…
It’s also important to note that this recipe — or any fried rice recipe, for that matter! — works much better when using leftover long-grain cooked rice that’s had a chance to sit in the fridge for a while and chill completely; rice that’s freshly cooked and still warm will only go mushy on you, rather than give you the desired separate, chewy grains that make a good fried rice. If you didn’t have any day-old rice on hand but still badly wanted to make fried rice, do not despair… You could always cook some fresh, spread it across a baking sheet as soon as it’s ready and then flash-cool it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before using it.
When all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go, heat some oil in a large wok (or skillet) over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tofu cubes, sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and cook until they’re crispy and golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
Next, add the cashews and continue cooking for about 1 minute, until they become golden and fragrant, then remove the tofu and cashews to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving all the excess oil behind.
Return the wok to the heat source, add the onion, celery and mushrooms to the wok, sprinkle with a little bit more salt and cook them for about 2-3 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
I like to add a little bit of salt every time I add new ingredients to the wok, this way, the saltiness gets better distributed. Just be careful not to add too much… a light sprinkle is all it takes. And keep in mind that we’ll be adding tamari sauce at the very end, which is pretty salted, too. So yeah… don’t be too heavy-handed!
Next, add the garlic, broccoli, bok choy, zucchini and bell pepper, add another little sprinkle of salt and continue cooking for a further 2 to 3 minutes, until the veggies are softened but still slightly crunchy.
Now, add the sugar snap peas, green onions and enoki mushrooms, little bit more salt, and keep cooking for a few seconds more. These don’t really need to cook much at all, just a few seconds will totally do the trick.
Finally, add the cold rice, tamari, sesame oil and sriracha, then return the tofu and cashews to the pan.
Stir well and cook until the rice is heated through and serve without delay.
Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 - 14oz block firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- Sprinkle of salt
---
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 celery rib, sliced
- 10 mushrooms, sliced
- Sprinkle of salt
---
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 2 baby bok choy, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Sprinkle of salt
---
- 24 sugar snap peas, cut in half
- 1 - 5oz package enoki mushrooms
- 4 green onions, cut into 1" pieces
---
- 4 cups leftover cooked basmati rice, chilled* (or other long grain rice)
- 1/4 cup tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp sriracha
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large wok (or skillet) over medium high heat. Once hot, add the tofu cubes, sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and cook until they're crispy and golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cashews and continue cooking for about 1 minute, until they become golden and fragrant, then remove the tofu and cashews to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the excess oil in the pan.
- Return the wok to the heat source, add the onion, celery and mushrooms to the wok, sprinkle with a little bit of salt and cook them for about 2-3 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
- Next, add the garlic, broccoli, bok choy, zucchini and bell pepper, add another little sprinkle of salt and continue cooking for a further 2 to 3 minutes, until the veggies are softened but still slightly crunchy.
- Add the sugar snap peas, green onions and enoki mushrooms, little bit more salt, and keep cooking for a few seconds more.
- Finally, add the rice, tamari, sesame oil and sriracha, then return the tofu and cashews to the pan.
- Stir well and cook until rice is heated through and serve without delay.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER for more delicious, healthy recipes!
4 Comments on “Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice”
I never leave recipe reviews but can’t resist letting you know how well this turned out! Everything was cooked perfectly and the flavors were spot on. I subbed Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for the tamari, omitted sri racha and used my fave chili garlic sauce instead. Instead of bok choy, a kale spinach blend and no enoki or green onions. So versatile and thanks for the tips on which order to cook everything.
Oh thank you so much, Janalie! I’m super happy to hear that you liked the recipe, and that the post was helpful to you! Thanks a whole big great bunch for taking the time to comment, too, I truly, sincerely appreciate it! 🙂
I ALWAYS wait until I try a recipe before I comment on it. But this time, no. I truly did NOT know that about the rice needing to be aged a bit and cold. As careful as I am when I cook fried rice, I never like my consistency–now I know why. As always, your recipes are so helpful and spot on! Thank you.
Haha! You are so very welcome, Sherry. I hope that your next batch of fried rice will be the best you ever made! 🙂