I love teriyaki sauce. For me, anything can be made better with teriyaki sauce, which is why I was totally in favor of the tofu in this recipe, much to my sister’s surprise. The tofu soaks up a light teriyaki flavor, but not so much that it becomes overly teriyaki-y. I made that up, but it should be a word.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 (8-ounce) package baked tofu, any flavor

　　1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

　　1 small head bok choy

　　2 stalks celery

　　1 carrot

　　1 small onion

　　2 cloves garlic

　　Cooking spray

　　1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts

　　1 tablespoon cornstarch

　　2 cups cooked white rice (see page 6)

　　

Step 1

Cut the tofu into bite-size pieces, place in a shallow bowl, and pour in the teriyaki sauce. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until ready to use.

　　

Step 2

Rinse the bok choy and cut both leaves and stems into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Trim and discard the ends of the celery and cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Peel the carrot and onion and cut into thin slices. Peel and finely chop the garlic or pass it through a garlic press.

　　

Step 3

Generously spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the bok choy, celery, carrot, onion, and water chestnuts and cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the carrot is just tender. Add the tofu to the pan, reserving the teriyaki sauce. Combine the cornstarch and teriyaki sauce, stir until smooth, then stir in to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce comes to a boil. Take the pan off the heat.

　　

Step 4

Spoon some of the rice onto each plate, top with some of the tofu mixture, and serve immediately.

　　

food trivia

Step 5

You may have heard that eating celery burns more calories than it contains, making it a “negative calorie” food. Although that is technically correct, don’t get your hopes up that you are going to eat your way thin. The negative calories are due more to the fact that there are so few calories in celery than that you burn off so many eating it.

　　College Vegetarian Cooking