Quinoa Veggie Stir Fry

It's been awhile since I made a recipe with quinoa. You can use it in any dish where you would normally use rice. I like it a bit better than regular rice: the texture is more tender and it has a nutty flavor.

Notes: I picked up a couple of ingredients I normally don't have on hand: tofu and roasted garlic chili paste. The co-op had baked tofu, which I had never seen before. I absolutely love tofu in Thai and Chinese food, but I can't ever seem to get the texture right when I cook it at home. The baked tofu was closer to what I was looking for. If you can't find baked tofu, regular tofu would work just fine. I would press the water out and add it to the pan first so that it crisps up a bit.

I hadn't used roasted garlic chili paste before. It's very good, though I think I might add a little more next time I use it. If you can't find it, a combination of regular garlic and some kind of hot sauce would get you in the flavor ballpark.

I have learned a lot from screwing up stir fries in the past. I think the biggest tip is to have everything ready before you even turn on the burner. I don't have a wok, so I just use a regular skillet, which means it doesn't take long to heat up. Have all your ingredients laid out next to the stove so that all you have to do is reach for them when you're ready. You can't leave stir fry unattended!

If you have all your ingredients prepped, stir fry is very Q.E.D. -- it only takes about 7 minutes!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 head of shredded cabbage
1 cup of broccoli florets
1 cup of baked (or regular) tofu, cubed
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons roasted garlic chili paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Dice your bell pepper, shred your cabbage, chop your broccoli, and cube your tofu. Arrange all your ingredients near the stove so that you can dump them into the pan when you need to.

Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. When the oil ripples and starts to smoke a little, add your cabbage (if you're using regular tofu, add it first). Stir the cabbage around so that it's all coated with oil (about a minute). Add the bell pepper and broccoli florets and stir until tender crisp (about a minute). Season the veggies with salt and pepper. If you're using baked tofu, add it now. Add in the chili paste and stir everything together (about two minutes).

Move your mixture to the edges of the pan, creating a well in the middle. Add in your cooked quinoa and soy sauce. Stir continuously for about 3-4 minutes until the quinoa starts to brown and get a little sticky. Remove the pan from the heat when you're done to make sure nothing burns.

Serve and enjoy!