Stir-Fried Cabbage, Lettuce, and Tofu
The Philadelphia area has a bumper crop of lettuce right now, and frankly, I’m getting sick of it. Not that I don’t like lettuce – I do, I do – but this sort of classic green leaf variety is about my least favorite. What do? Shake it. This meal was very loosely based on the Stir-Fried Garlic Lettuce recipe from The Breath of a Wok. I also had a bunch of cabbage, so I added some of that, used a whole bunch of CSA garlic scapes instead regular old white garlic, and added tofu, fried in a bit of chili oil with salt and pepper. Really, it was remarkable. You could serve it over rice, or just eat a giant bowl all on your own.
Stir-Fried Cabbage, Lettuce and Tofu
serves 4
sauce
4 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
tofu
2 Tbs. chili sesame oil
1 12 oz. block firm, organic tofu, cubed
salt and pepper
vegetables
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic scapes, diced
3 cloves of white garlic, thinly sliced
4 cups of napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1 medium head of green lettuce, sliced
chili sesame oil
Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. In a large wok, heat the sesame oil on medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles in the pan. Add the tofu cubes, stirring quickly to coat in oil. Turn every few minutes, until lightly browned. Salt and pepper generously, stir, and put tofu to the side (draining on paper towels if desired). In the same, hot wok, heat the vegetable oil. Add the garlic scapes, stirring to coat, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the sliced garlic cloves, and cook until they barely brown – about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, toss well to coat, and cover the wok. Uncover and turn the cabbage every few minutes, replacing the lid to steam in between turn, until the cabbage begins to soften and wilt. Add the tofu and toss. Add the lettuce and sauce then lightly toss. Cook until the lettuce just begins to wilt (one or two minutes) and the tofu is heated through. Remove from heat immediately. There should still be additional sauce left in the pan (if not, add a little extra soy sauce and rice wine). Serve over rice, drizzling lightly with chili sesame oil.
