Today’s recipe is another “dinner two ways” post. (To see the others, click on the “tag cloud” called Dinner Two Ways on the right column.) We have gotten really good at eating different from each other at home. Chicken continues to look unappetizing to me, so we seasoned our proteins the same but cooked them separately and added them to our own dish. We both wanted to eat a lot of vegetables in this dish, so we packed the stir fry choc full of veggies.

Veggie Packed Stir Fry

This dish was super simple with a little extra cleanup because of separate pans for chicken and tofu. It was very colorful with sweet and spicy flavors and filling too with a combo of protein from edamame and tofu or chicken.

Ingredients, for rice/veggie stir fry:

• 1 C dry brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s boil in a bag rice, one pack)
• 2 T sesame oil
• 1 C carrots, chopped
• 1 C edamame (we used frozen and it cooked straight from the bag)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 can water chestnuts
• 1/2 C celery, chopped

For the chicken or tofu, we seasoned these the same way.

• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

• For the chicken: Slice raw chicken into strips or bites and marinate the chicken in sauce. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• For the tofu: I used Extra Firm Tofu. Remove from package and slice into 6 strips. Press for at least 15 minutes between two towels with something heavy. Marinate in same juices in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
• We cooked the chicken on the stove with one onion, and the tofu on a Griddler for 8 minutes.

• For the rice:
• Boil according to box instructions. Ours went in boiling water for 10 minutes in the bag with perforated holes. It was very simple and perfectly cooked.
• For the veggies: In a large pan with olive oil, add carrots and edamame to get a head start on cooking. Cook about 8 minutes and add red bell pepper, water chestnuts and celery.

• In a small bowl, combine sesame oil and soy sauce and pour on top of veggies. Mix well and let cook together 8 more minutes. Add brown rice to pan and mix all together until veggies are soft and rice is well mixed.

We assembled our own protein in our own bowl and had the same veggie/rice base.

It took a few pots to get there, but it was a one-bowl dinner.

Jeffrey’s chicken stir fry:

My tofu stir fry:

Jeffrey loved the chicken flavor from the marinade paired with the veggies. I thought the tofu on the Griddler was not as firm as I hoped it would be, but it looked pretty with the grill marks. That was my first time trying tofu on the Griddler, and it wasn’t worth the hassle of getting the whole thing out from the cabinet. The stovetop way in cubes is still the best way to get firmer tofu. Like once before when I baked tofu, the griddler tofu did firm up in the refrigerator and was great for lunch the next day.