Tofu stir-fry with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes

With the double-whammy of my gluten intolerance plus corn sugar, ginger, mustard and egg allergies (among others), eating asian food in restaurants is challenging, to say the least. The good news is that cooking gluten-free allergy-free asian food at home is easy. This dish was one I came up with recently on a cold rainy night using up the last of some vegetables in my fridge. Making stir fry without ginger may put your cooking skills to the test. Here I used part of a recipe from the back of the tofu box (minus the ginger) and used mirin/sake and honey for sweetness and sun-dried tomatoes to perk it up. I served it over Japanese white rice since I have a moderate allergy to brown rice.

Migraineurs take note that everything is fresh except the sun-dried tomatoes, which are unsulphered and free of all preservatives. Shallots take the place of migraine-causing onions and the rice vinegar is clear (cider vinegar and wine vinegars seem to be headache triggers for me).

Sauce
4 T wheat-free soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1 T corn-syrup free mirin (or sake)
1 tsp. honey
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. each black and white sesame seeds

1 T peanut or vegetable oil
splash of sesame oil1 lg. shallot, sliced
1/2 small head cabbage, shredded
1 head broccoli
1/2 bag washed spinach
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (unsulphered)
soaked in water and drained

1 pkg. extra firm tofu

Mix the first seven ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Drain the tofu and remove excess moisture. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.

Stir-fry the shallots, cabbage and broccoli in the peanut and sesame oil for a few minutes — until the shallots are starting to carmelize and the cabbage is soft. Add the tofu, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir-fry a minute or so. Add the sauce and cook until the tofu is cooked through, but not mushy. Serve over rice.

Feeds 4