Stir Fry Bok Choy and Deep Fried Tofu

I love Asian supermarkets – you wander in and come out purchasing a bunch of ingredients/produce you’ve never heard of. Oddly enough, I had never bought deep fried tofu before this month (despite always ordering it in restaurants), but now I’m hooked.

Bok choy is one of my staple vegetables and holds a dear place in my heart because it was my first cooking endeavor ever. Mom wanted to “teach” me (a rather chubby tween) how to cook, so in her Asian mother cooking style, she said, “Go stir fry some bok choy and add salt.”

When I asked how much salt, she said, “Oh, just add to taste,” and left to do mom tasks, like pay the bills. Well, I didn’t taste it enough – when I proudly served my dish on the table, it was quite salty. Terribly salty. In fact, sooo salty that we had to throw it away.

You know it’s really bad when food is thrown away at the Uy household.

The funny thing is I don’t even like salt. When I cook Asian greens (half the time I don’t even know the name of the vegetable) now, usually I don’t salt them and it tastes great. Eating greens is why Asian women live so long – the odds are in my favor (and can be yours too)!

You can make crispy tofu by baking or by air frying (sponsored). There’s a lot of excellent air fryer reviews here. Nothing makes tofu more heavenly that that crisp shell.

Stir Fry Bok Choy and Deep Fried Tofu

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag (about 3 cups) baby or regular bok choy
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 package deep fried tofu *
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced (optional)

*can buy at Asian markets, or use regular tofu or make your own crispy tofu

Directions
Bake deep fried tofu in the oven at 400 degrees F for 10-15 min until crispy.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cut the ends of the baby bok choy (if using regular sized bok choy, also cut stalked in half). Add bok choy with garlic (and mushrooms if using) and stir fry for 5 minutes, until the stalks are tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Add in deep fried tofu and stir fry. Serve with soy sauce and/or hot chili oil.