Lemon Broccoli and Crispy Tofu

Lemon broccoli and tofu is one of those recipes that I make in a variety of ways depending on my mood and what I have in my kitchen. If I'm in a hurry, I stirfry everything in one skillet; if I want to spend a little more time, I crispy bake the tofu in the oven and then add it to the mixture. Sometimes I use cornstarch to make a creamy sauce, and sometimes I don't. I'll share all my different versions with you and then you can decide which one to try. 

Since the Pandemic started to be taken seriously, about 10 weeks ago, I've been sheltering inside which means cooking I've been cooking all of our meals. We don't go grocery shopping very often but when we do, I stock up. Tofu was available when I did my last shopping, so I bought 3 packages, thus the focus on the tofu recipes. Usually, I don't eat tofu very often, except when I eat out! 

Version One; 

Crispy Baked Tofu Version (recipe and measurement below)

I use frozen organic broccoli that I buy at Costco. If comes in a large bag and then there are 4 family size bags inside. It is convenient, organic, good quality, and a decent price. I use a package of organic Non-GMO tofu that I press to remove some of the liquid and then cut into cubes. I use a sweet navel orange, a juicy lemon, and a little lemon peel. My sauce is made of gluten-free soy sauce, Non-Gmo corn starch, water, grated ginger, grated garlic, garlic powder, ginger powder, and some chili flakes. The only reason I use the ground powders in addition to fresh is that the fresh grated ginger and garlic are too strong for my husband!

Ingredients: 

1 package of frozen broccoli 

1/2 cup sweet red pepper strips 

1 package of tofu, pressed and sliced

Braggs Amino acid spray or soak in amino acids or additional soy sauce 

Himalayan salt 

Olive oil spray

1/4 cup water

Sauce Ingredients: 

1/2 cup of gluten-free soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated garlic 

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

pinch of hot pepper flakes (or more to your taste)

juice of one orange 

juice of one juicy or two not so juicy lemons (1/2 in sauce; 1/2 to pour over the recipe before serving)

Pinch of dehydrated lemon peel

1/2 cup of sweet red pepper sliced into small strips

Optional:1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Slice package of tofu, (that you pressed to remove some of the liquid), into 8 slices. Spray tofu with Braggs amino acid spray or dip in additional gluten-free soy sauce.

Then spray the slices of tofu with olive oil spray. Place on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until crispy and remove from the oven. 

While the tofu is baking, prepare your sauce in a small bowl by adding GF soy sauce, grated ginger, grated garlic, ginger powder, garlic powder, hot pepper flakes, juice of one orange, and juice of half a lemons. In a separate bowl or ramekin, add Non-Gmo cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water and mix well. Mix the cornstarch mixture together with the GF soy sauce mixture and set aside.   

Spray a large skillet with olive oil or avocado oil spray. Add the red pepper strips, broccoli, and 1/4 cup of water. I like to grind some Himalayan salt over the broccoli before I cover with a lid and simmer on low until broccoli is tender but still green (about 5-7 minutes) Remove lid, stir sauce well to incorporate any cornstarch that floated to the bottom and pour over broccoli and mix well, cooking and stirring for another 2 minutes to create a sauce. 

Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon over the entire mixture. Top with slices of crispy baked tofu and serve. 

Version Two: Quick and Easy Skillet Method

In this version, I just cube the tofu and cook it with the broccoli and whatever veggie I have or don't have. The sauce is the same as above but I cook everything in one large skillet.

Spray a large skillet with olive oil or avocado oil spray. Add the frozen broccoli and whatever vegetables you want, cubes of tofu, 1/4 cup water and cook for 5-7 minutes covered until broccoli is tender but still green!

Add sauce, stirring and cooking for about 2 more minutes to allow the cornstarch to thicken. Squeeze the juice of the remaining half lemon over everything and serve. 

We enjoy this meal with rice!

Notes: 

Hack for Rice or Quinoa  - When I cook rice or quinoa I now make extra. 
I freeze the remaining rice in sandwich size baggies for individual portions for future use. When I want rice, I then remove from frozen individual portion size baggie, sprinkle with a little water (a few drops), and microwave it for 2 minutes or heat it in the toaster oven, oven, or in a skillet. Your choice-

Best Hack Ever for Ginger Hack - I used to hate when a recipe called for fresh ginger. After all, how long does fresh ginger keep, and it would always get dried out or go bad before I made another recipe. Now I keep my ginger in a baggie in my freezer. I grate it frozen with skin right into any recipe. It works great! I've had ginger in the freezer up to 6 months and its as fresh as ever. I do not defrost it, I use it frozen in recipes that call for freshly grated ginger and in soup recipes. 

Scallions/ Green Onions

I love to garnish with green onions, but I am not going to the store very often, so I didn't have any. If you have some, use them to garnish!