When ordering a Chinese takeaway, I would include the egg/chicken fried rice, as it was one of my favourite dishes, albeit not as healthy as a bowl of steamed rice. So, I wanted to make a home-made plant-based version that tasted almost as good as the Chinese staple, but without the egg (which really makes the recipe in my opinion) and chicken. I decided that tofu was probably the most suitable alternative, as beans did not feel quite right in this dish. So, welcome to my One-Pot Tofu Fried Rice recipe!

I must admit before I made this dish, I had no real idea about how to cook tofu – I had never even used it in a dish before. I didn’t really know what it was made of either until I did some research. Here are my findings:

Tofu (originated in China) is a bean curd that is derived from soya. It is made by curdling fresh soya milk, pressing it into a solid block, and then cooling it.
Tofu is very versatile and is packed with many benefits – it’s an excellent source of amino acids, iron, and calcium
You can cook tofu in a variety of ways – the texture changes from soft and smooth to crispy and crunchy when cooked
Tofu provides the same sort of protection against cancer as soya beans
Tofu can also lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of breast cancer
You can use tofu for baking, grilling, and frying. In fact, you can add it to anything – sauces, smoothies, salad dressings, main meals and desserts – you name it!

So, it’s a clear no-brainer for vegans like me to stock up on tofu in our diet, as it’s a great protein alternative to animal products. Plus you can make things like this One-Pot Tofu Fried Rice recipe:

Using these ingredients:

Tofu doesn’t really taste of anything and it has a bland texture, but my sweet and sour sauce worked well in this One-Pot Tofu Fried Rice recipe because it coated the crispy tofu well and gave it quite a sweet and sour punch. You can check out my top five sauces in Week Eight (and many more printables) when you subscribe to my newsletter every Sunday. Just fill out your first name and email below:

Recipes, Freebies and Tips only on Sundays!

One-Pot Tofu Fried Rice is such an easy dish to make. You simply prepare your ingredients, fry the tofu first, then add the onions and the veg before you add the rice. What I would suggest, however, is to cook your tofu and veg fifteen minutes before your rice is cooked. I steamed my brown rice which took a whopping fifty minutes, but there are quicker ways to make the rice. If you use instant rice, this dish will only take fifteen minutes to make!

Fancy more One-Pot recipes? Why don’t you try my One-Pot Spaghetti in under Ten Minutes or my Bean and Lentil Stew?

Onto the recipe!

One-pot five-ingredient vegan tofu fried rice

Recipe by Five for a Fiver

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

I wanted to make a plant-based version that tasted as good as the Chinese egg/chicken fried rice. So, here is my one pot tofu fried rice version instead!

Ingredients

400g organic original tofu, chopped into cubes
2 cups brown rice, washed and ready to cook
2 red onions, diced
2 bell peppers, sliced
2 handfuls spinach, washed
Seasoning
2 tbsps soy sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsps oil
1 heaped tsp Dark French Mustard
Pinch of brown sugar

Directions

Wash the rice and place in a pan with boiling hot water to cook
Grab a massive frying pan and a chopping board
Add a little oil to the pan and fry the tofu until browned on all sides
Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the pinch of brown sugar
Add the peppers and fry for a few more minutes
At this point, the rice should be cooked. If not, take the pan off the heat and let it rest until the rice has cooked.
Once the rice is cooked, place the pan back on low heat and add the rice and spinach. Fry for a few minutes.
Finally, mix the seasoning together, and add to the pan. Cook for a further few minutes.
Serve hot!

Notes

I always work on a 1:2 ratio for rice, i.e. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. I’ll post a video on here about how to cook rice shortly.

I’d love for you to tag me on @Fiveforafiver via Facebook/Twitter (@Fiveforafiver1 via Instagram), using the hashtags #FiverFoodies and/or #FiveforaFiver, and let me know how you got on with the tofu in this dish. Also, comment below and let me know what you think of tofu in general.

Here is a list of ingredients that I found from ASDA for £4.81 total (prices may vary after 23rd June 2018):

Mori-nu Silken Firm Tofu, 349g – £1.40

ASDA Easy Cook Long Grain Brown Rice, 1kg – £1.17

ASDA Grower’s Selection Red Onions, 3 – 65p

ASDA Tender Baby Spinach, 180g – 60p

ASDA Farm Stores Mixed Peppers, 3 – 99p