"Homestyle" Zesty Sriracha Stir-Fry

"Homestyle" Zesty Sriracha Stir-Fry

My first actual recipe on the blog, how exciting. But first, I'm gonna be honest and say that this recipe has been one that never really turns out the same every time for me because I tend to make substitutes for this recipe all the time. It really just depends on what I have in my kitchen or what looks good at the grocery store for a given week. However, this crazy recipe started when I was first a sophomore in college, and I would go to the salad bar and pick up a bunch of ingredients to make a stir-fry.

This first edition of my stir-fry, I have labeled as my "homestyle" stir-fry because I used what I had in my kitchen at home, back in Indiana, to make one of my favorite dishes.

The Ingredients:

• 1 small onion
• 15 oz can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans are the same thing)
• 1 bell pepper (I tend to use yellow to balance out the other colors in the stir-fry)
• 1/2 cup of broccoli 
• 1/2 cup of assorted cherry tomatoes 
• 4 oz extra-firm tofu (or alternative form of protein)- I recommend using shrimp or chicken 
• 1 block of "Lotus Foods Millet & Brown Rice Ramen" 
• 1 lime
• soy sauce 
• sriracha
• olive oil
• cumin
• garlic powder
• paprika
• seasoning salt
• crushed red chili peppers

Time to cook: 

1. Dice up onion and sautee with olive oil until slightly transparent.
   
2. Season tofu with cumin, garlic powder, paprika, crushed red chili peppers, and seasoning salt. Then add tofu into the pan with the onion and continue sauteeing with olive oil, as needed (sometimes I notice tofu can stick to the pan).
   
3. In the microwave put broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl with a little bit of water for 2 minutes to slightly steam the broccoli before it goes into the stir-fry. 
4. While the broccoli is in the microwave, chop up the bell pepper into small cubes to allow for faster cooking and more flavor per sq inch.
   
5. Once the tofu starts to firm up, add chopped bell peppers and half a can rinsed chickpeas to the pan.
   
6. Additionally, add in the broccoli and cherry tomatoes, plus any more spices that were used in the tofu seasoning depending on one's preference for each given spice. Along with the addition of 1 tsp of sriracha and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. 
   
7. In a separate pot, bring two cups of water to boil and cook the ramen noodles following the directions on the back of the packaging.
   
8. As the stir-fry begins to look and tastes ready (*tasting one's food while cooking is essential because that is how you know whether or not to add or adjust the flavors in the dish). Add the cooked ramen noodles to the stir-fry and cook together on low heat for 1-2 minutes, to ensure the flavor transfers from the stir-fry to the noodles.
9. Finish off the stir-fry with some fresh cut lime, along with optional crushed red chili peppers and additional sriracha to complete the "Homestyle" Zesty Sriracha Stir-Fry!
   

Bon Appetit, 

Robin