Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Ingredients

If not using one of the tofu's mentioned above, you'll want to drain and press your tofu to remove excess water. Simply cut tofu into slabs and place between paper towels or a clean dish cloth. With wrapped tofu laying on a flat surface, place a heavy book/object on top for about 15 minutes or so. Here's a great tutorial from Olives for Dinner: How to press tofu perfectly in six steps

In a small/medium bowl, combine the tamari, water, sweetener and flour. This will be your slurry, ensuring your tofu will be coated nicely.

Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high. Add tofu and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Your tofu will slightly brown (we're not going to worry about it getting super brown and crispy here but if you want it browner and crispier, cook another 5 minutes or so stirring occasionally).

Add in your slurry mixture, ground pepper, garlic and ginger. It will sizzle at first when adding the liquids. Stir fry another 3 minutes or so, add in hot peppers and scallions. Liquids should start to thicken a bit, cook another 5 minutes or until the scallions are just softened.

Serve with brown rice, brown rice/quinoa mix, basmati or jasmine rice. Soba noodles would be great too. Add a large handful of chopped cilantro on the side, it will add to the flavors while giving a nice dose of freshness to the pepperiness. If you love cilantro, you will truly appreciate it here!

Serves three.

Notes:

Add more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste. You can also sub in mild chili peppers or sliced jalapeno peppers with the seeds removed.

For the scallions, you'll notice that I cut the darker green parts into 1 inch sections while slicing the white and light green parts into 1/4 inch pieces. Just a thought if you'd like to do the same.

Feel free to use 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar, raw sugar or coconut sugar in place of the liquid sweetener.

If you're anything like me, you're an experimenter. Kelp noodles are one of those food items that have intrigued me. These tasteless, crunchy noodles are a low carb, low fat, low calorie and gluten free option to other noodles. They contain about 6 calories per serving, 1 gram of fiber, and zero protein. Kelp Noodles are rich in more than 70 minerals, including iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iodine. The high iodine content may help with metabolism and thyroid function. Also, they're a great source of sodium alginate, an effective element that removes and protects the body from radiation. With more than 21 amino acids, an assortment of vitamins, enzymes and trace elements, kelp noodles are a great alternative to pasta. Another thing you'll love about these is they're so easy to use and do not need to be cooked, just give them a good rinsing before preparing your dish. Two brands I've tried that are considered raw are Gold Mine and Sea Tangle. They can be kept unopened in your pantry or refrigerator for up to 6 months. But please do remember even with all this goodness, you should enjoy kelp noodles in moderation or do your own research before consuming them on a daily basis. Just my 2 cents! ♥

If you're not a vinegar lover, try using less while replacing the unused portion with water.

Try using this Peanut Citrus Dressing or Miso Ginger Dressing for variation.

Add cubed tofu for added protein.

Enjoy!