Brown Rice Tofu Scramble

The lunch dilemma – It happens to all of us. Once we have made soups, salads, sandwiches and eaten at all the best possible healthy eateries we crave for some fresh home cooked lunch while at work or at home or at school. Hmmmmm.

I am always asking myself whether I want to eat salad again today? The answer immediately comes to my mind NAAAHHH!!! 🙂 . At that point I try and explore my kitchen refrigerator and kitchen pantry like never before and I always tell myself it’s time to organize the shelves but my question is mostly unanswered and tummy growling. I end up eating lettuce and wait for another afternoon in some hope of coming up with an idea for lunch. 🙂

With so much thought Brown Rice Tofu Scramble was created in my kitchen with the ingredients that were handy at that time. 🙂  . Basically I was cleaning up the refrigerator before making another grocery trip.

Doesn’t that sound fun?

After a lot of practice finally I mastered the technique of cooking a perfect brown rice that is soft, chewy and fluffy.  Firstly brown rice needs to be rinsed thoroughly and since I am always impatient I never soak the rice but if you have time I would recommend you soak the brown rice in water for some time. The ratio of rice and water should be 1:3. Cook at medium flame stirring at intervals to avoid sticking. Once the water is almost absorbed simmer the flame. Cover and cook until water is absorbed. After few minutes remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, heat oil in nonstick pan and add garlic, fresh oregano leaves (I used fresh oregano because it gave the recipe a subtle flavor and aroma), onions and sauté well. Make sure that tofu is as dry as possible and add the crumbled tofu to the pan and cook very well until golden brown and completely dry. While cooking tofu little care needs to be taken in order to bring out the chewy texture and a fully cooked flavor. Any raw taste of tofu will spoil the recipe. Now toss in rest of the ingredients and cook again for few minutes and serve warm.

I topped it with some fresh lettuce (my favorite green leaves) for myself but you can enjoy this dish as is. I doubled this recipe and refrigerated. I packed it for lunch for my husband the next day and after a long time he enjoyed a healthy home cooked lunch.

Brown Rice Tofu Scramble tastes as delicious at room temperature and is a perfect lunch box idea as well. 🙂

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Brown Rice Tofu Scramble

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serves 3

Per Serving 325 calories

Fat 11 g

Carbs 43 g

Protein 15 g

3

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 8 fresh oregano leaves
• 1 cup red onions (chopped)
• 1 14 oz. pack tofu (drained, pressed and crumbled)
• 1 ½ cup colored bell peppers (red, yellow and green)
• 1 tbsp. jalapeno pepper (sliced)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 ½ tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups brown rice (cooked)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a nonstick pan and add garlic and oregano leaves.
2. Once garlic starts to brown add onions and sauté until light golden brown.
3. Add crumbled tofu and cook open until golden brown in color and tofu dries up further. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid any sticking or over cooking.
4. Add bell peppers and jalapeno pepper, mix well, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bell peppers soften but retains its crunchy texture. (Avoid over cooking).
5. Add salt, black pepper and lemon juice and mix well.
6. Lastly, add brown rice and sauté well. Cook opened for 1-2 minutes and turn off the fame.
7. Garnish with more oregano leaves and serve hot.

Notes

Dried oregano can also be used instead of fresh oregano leaves.

Make sure to press tofu very well and try to dry it up as much as possible. Cook tofu very well until golden in color to get the chewy texture and avoid any raw taste.

For a nice soft and chewy texture of brown rice the ratio of rice and water should be 1:3 and cook in medium flame till the water is almost absorbed stirring at interval to avoid sticking in the pan. Then simmer the flame and cover and cook until water is fully absorbed.