Tofu Fried Rice

Tofu Fried Rice is a fantastic vegetarian recipe that cooks in under 20 minutes. Just fry tofu, eggs, garlic, ginger, carrots, scallions, and peas with rice, then toss with an easy sesame-soy sauce. 

We’re cooking a lot more vegetarian dishes in my house these days, and I’m not missing the meat at all. We haven’t fully given up eating meat and fish, but I’m trying to convert everyday meals into vegetarian form whenever possible. Take this Tofu Fried Rice dish. In the past, I’ve made this dish with chicken, or leftover pork, or shrimp, but I’ll tell you, the tofu in this dish is a winner. If you’re looking for more easy ways to reduce your meat consumption, I encourage you to check this out. 

Why Make This Recipe

• Super Easy to Make: Once you have your ingredients chopped and your sauce prepped, it takes under 20 minutes to cook.
• Great Base Recipe: Learn this technique, and you can sub in different proteins or vegetables.
• Perfect for Leftovers: This recipe is perfect for using up leftovers, like the last bit of sautéed greens or the contents lurking on the bottom of your crisper drawer. Or, stretch the end of a pork tenderloin or the last bit of a rotisserie chicken into a full meal.

🥗 Ingredients

• Carrots: You can use frozen carrots as well as fresh. If you have carrots that are frozen in small pieces, just put them in at the end when you add the frozen peas. If they are frozen in bigger slices, thaw before adding with the peas at the end. A super easy idea is to use the frozen combination carrot/pea bags rather than chopping fresh carrots. If you don’t have carrots at all, add in a bit of celery for that crunch factor. 
• Peas: You can use fresh peas as well as frozen. For fresh peas, add with the carrots, ginger, and garlic. You could also replace the peas with greens like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, or collard greens. Just make sure to either use baby kale or baby spinach, or else chop your greens into small pieces so that they cook quickly. 
• Tofu: This is a vegetarian recipe, but if you prefer to make a meat version, you can replace the tofu with cooked cubed pork or rotisserie chicken or even shrimp. If your meat is already cooked, just add it with the ginger and carrots. Otherwise, follow the instructions for the tofu and cook your protein fully before removing it from the pan and adding the eggs. 
• Rice vinegar: If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can substitute lime juice instead. Since lime juice is a bit more acidic than rice wine vinegar, you may want to add a bit of sugar to the sauce as well. 

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Start by preparing your ingredients, so they are all ready to go before you start cooking. Peel and chop 2 large carrots into very small pieces or julienne into thin strips. (Larger pieces will not cook through by the time you are done cooking the rest of the ingredients.)

2. Peel, then mince 2 cloves of garlic and a ½-inch piece of fresh ginger.

3. Slice 3 scallions thinly, separating the white/light green parts from the dark green parts.

4. Drain one package of extra-firm tofu and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into small cubes.

5. Scramble 2 eggs in a small bowl with a fork.

6. Make the sauce by stirring together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, and ¼ teaspoon sriracha. 

7. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large nonstick skillet or wok. Bring to medium-high heat. Add tofu and stir occasionally until lightly browned on all sides (about 5-8 minutes).

8. Remove from pan and add another tablespoon of oil, then add eggs. Scramble eggs for 2 minutes, or until fully cooked, breaking into pieces with a spatula.

9. Remove from pan and add another tablespoon of oil. Add garlic, ginger, carrots, and the white and light green parts of the scallions.

10. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Carrots should be approaching crisp-tender.

11. Add 4 cups of cold, pre-cooked rice and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until fully incorporated, breaking up any chunks of rice.

12. Add back crispy tofu and eggs along with frozen peas. Stir for 1 minute, then pour in sauce.

13. Stir until sauce is incorporated and peas are cooked, about 1-2 more minutes.

14. Garnish with green onion slices, and extra sriracha, if desired. 

🧐 Recipe FAQs

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

Vegan Version of Tofu Fried Rice: It's very easy to make a vegan version of this dish— just leave out the eggs. In the past, there was some concern about soy sauce being made with fish products. However, the vast majority of current commercial soy sauce products now do not contain any fish. Still, please check the label of your ingredients if you are at all worried. 

Making Tofu Fried Rice in Advance: Fried rice is a dish that I think tastes best right off the stove. If you’re serving guests and want top-notch fried rice, I wouldn’t recommend making it in advance and reheating it. That can cause the rice to steam a bit more upon reheating (especially if you microwave it), which will lead to a more mushy texture. But for everyday eating, I say have at it. Reheated fried rice is better than none, and it will keep in your refrigerator for at least a couple of days. 

Freezing Tofu Fried Rice: Cooked rice freezes well on its own, and fried rice does too. Just store it in an airtight container or in freezer bags with any air pressed out. You can freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then toss into a hot skillet for a few minutes to reheat. You may want to add a little bit of water to the skillet to steam the rice a bit—this is a trick I use when reheating frozen plain rice, and the principle is the same here. The freezer will take some of the moisture out of the rice, so adding a little water in when you reheat helps it come back to life. 

Other Vegetarian Main Course Recipes

If you’re looking for some other vegetarian dinner options, I’ve got you covered.

• I love this Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta dish featuring a to-die-for spinach-artichoke cream sauce.
• Red Lentil Bolognese is a delicious, plant-forward take on traditional Bolognese sauce
• If it’s summer where you are, my Caprese Crepes are super easy and highlight farm-fresh tomatoes. Or try my Zucchini Stir-Fry with Tofu for when you have zucchini coming out of your ears.
• If grain bowls are your thing, I’d highly recommend this Ramen Egg Rice Bowl and this Parmesan Pearl Barley Grain Bowl.

Other Vegan Main Course Recipes

If you want to take the next step, and go vegan, don't miss four of my favorite dishes of all time:

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