Creamy Vegan Peanut Stir Fry

This easy to make, flavour-packed vegan stir fry has a rich, silky-smooth peanut sauce that coats the vegetables and crispy tofu perfectly.

Why I love peanut sauces

There’s something rich and delicious about peanut sauces. The first time I tasted one at a Vietnamese restaurant I knew this was a flavour I’d be using in my own cooking.

They’re somehow sweet-yet-savoury all at once. And they’re strong, but the other ingredients aren’t overpowered.

Then there’s the texture. It is so smooth and rich. Creamy is the best word.

How to cook tofu

Tofu stir fry can be made in many ways. Often it starts with a long marinating process for the tofu – which can give great results, but I’ve chosen to keep it simple here and let the sauce do the flavouring work. It has more than enough texture and sauce to satisfy, and the mild creamy tofu contrasts well.

Anything coated in this sauce is guaranteed to be delicious!

So, there’s no time consuming marinating of the tofu, just press the moisture out and you’re ready to get started. I’m just frying it until golden, then setting it aside while I stir fry the vegetables so it doesn’t get broken apart, then adding it back in right before the sauce.

I’ve tried many ways to cook tofu, and this method is my favourite so far. It gives the tofu a wonderful, crisp, golden surface and it stays soft inside. Plus it’s an extremely easy way to cook tofu.

Make sure to cut the tofu into even size squares so it’s easy to turn them around and brown all sides.

Choosing and preparing mushrooms

This recipe uses chestnut mushrooms because they hold up well to stir-frying and have an excellent flavour and texture. Ideally, pick brown mushrooms with thick stalks for the strongest flavour. However, white mushrooms will be good too if that’s all you have.

The mud on mushrooms tastes metallic, so wash them right before slicing to remove it.

Freshness is vital with mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms will be very firm and pressing with a finger won’t easily dent them.

How you cut them matters – either slice or just cut in to quarters. Sliced mushrooms look great and give them more presence as there’s more surface area, but they also tend to release water much faster during cooking and depending on the amount of mushrooms your stir fry can quickly end up with a puddle of water in the bottom of the pan. If this is a concern either use less mushrooms or just cut them in to quarters.

How to serve peanut stir fry

You can enjoy this stir fry by itself, or with some freshly cooked rice. I like to sprinkle with finely sliced spring onions to garnish.

Check out my how-to cook Japanese rice post. It’s soft, sticky and the perfect side dish to this stir fry.

Yield: 2

Creamy Vegan Peanut Stir Fry

Print

This easy to make, flavour-packed vegan stir fry has a rich, silky-smooth peanut sauce that coats the vegetables and crispy tofu perfectly.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Sauce

• 4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (sub with tamari if making it gluten-free)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
• 1 small red chilli (thinly sliced)

Crispy tofu

• 400 g firm tofu (pressed and cut in to cubes)
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (eg. groundnut, sunflower)

Vegetables

• 300 g chestnut mushrooms (washed and quartered)
• 100 g sugar snap peas
• 1 small yellow or orange bell pepper (stalk and seeds discarded, then thinly sliced)
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (eg. groundnut, sunflower)

Garnish

• 1 spring onion (thinly sliced)

Instructions

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth, then whisk in water until the sauce is a pourable consistency (typically 3-4 tablespoons of water are needed). Set aside for later.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large non-stick pan or wok and bring to medium heat. Add the pressed cubed tofu and cook, flipping as needed to cook all sides. It should only take a few minutes. Once they're golden, remove them from the pan and set aside for later.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and bring it up to medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and stir fry until the mushrooms and peppers are soft, but the sugar snap peas are still crisp.
4. Return the tofu the the wok, pour the sauce over and immediately mix to coat everything. You don't want to hang around long at this stage as the sauce can stick to the pan, just heat it through and transfer to plates. Garnish with thinly sliced spring onions.
   

Notes

Storage: Stir fry does not keep, so cook and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 525

Have you tried this vegan stir fry? Or have a question? Join in the comments below.