Sticky Tofu Fried Rice

a true fridge clean out moment

We’ve had a rotating list of guests in our house for the past week, and now that everything’s left, it’s a lot quieter and a lot emptier- especially in the fridge. My younger asked me to make him dinner while he was at the gym, and after scrounging through our pantry and fridge, this is what I came up with. Fried rice is always an easy way to use up any leftover rice, but since he’s obsessed with reaching his protein goals, I found a block of tofu and used that as well. It’s definitely not his preferred protein source, but I pride myself on turning tofu into something that even a 22-year-old man will eat. My brother actually loves my tofu, an accomplishment in its own right since he usually avoids it like the plague.

Old rice is ideal because it has a better capacity for absorbing and swelling with the sauce. Fresh rice is too soft and will get mushy and break with all the added liquid.

I use an assortment of sauces, but most can be substituted or omitted; it’s just what I had in the fridge. If you have a question about that, please leave it in the comments, and I’ll reply with an appropriate solution. The method may seem a little long, but it’s just because I wanted to put as much detail as possible.

I hope you try it out!

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Ingredients:

tofu

1/2 a block of extra-firm tofu cut into large squares

1/2 cup cornstarch

sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp teriyaki sauce (veri veri is my favorite brand)

1/2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp tonkatsu sauce

1 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

fried rice

1 cup day-old rice (or fresh, but it won’t be as good)

1/2 an onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 inch ginger, chopped finely

cilantro or spring onions to garnish

2 eggs whisked