Even though summer is right around the corner here in New England, it’s actually been a little chilly here and there. Not actually cold, but just nice enough that I can get away with cuddling under a blanket with a nice big bowl of vegan keto comfort food. In the past week or so, I’ve made this recipe quite a few times, as it’s so easy to throw together and so filling. It’s also really nutritous and just hits the spot. While I realize it may not be what comes to mind immediately when you think of comfort food, this low carb vegan tomato and tofu stir fry really hits the spot.

So, where did this dish come from? It’s kind of round-about… My most time-consuming hobby is language learning, and I’ve been dabbling with Mandarin Chinese the last few months. One way that I like to learn new vocabulary and learn about culture is by watching cooking videos. So, recently I’ve been watching a fair amount of Chinese cooking videos on YouTube, which has pretty much just served to make me very hungry…

Anyway, a dish that seemed to come up a lot was a tomato and egg stir fry served over rice. It looked really simple, filling and delicious, so I got to work on adapting it.  This is my low carb vegan version of that, using tofu in place of the eggs, and served over cauliflower rice instead.  I love simple dishes like this, where the flavor comes from just a few ingredients. In this case, it’s the tomatoes and scallions that really shine through. This recipe is so, so easy and requires only the following ingredients:

• tomatoes
• tofu
• tamari, soy sauce or liquid aminos
• scallions
• cauliflower rice
• olive oil
• pepper and salt (I used black salt)

You probably already have everything in your kitchen! I love simple comfort food recipes for this exact reason…that, and it only takes about 10 minutes to make, total. While this dish is a little higher in carbs than I usually make for dinner, it is loaded with phytonutrients and is good for your body and soul. Have you ever had a variation of this dish? Do you ever watch cooking videos in other languages? Does anyone ever read this far? Let me know in the comments!

Notes on Making Vegan Keto Comfort Food: Tomato & Tofu Stir Fry

• If you can’t tolerate soy, just use coconut aminos in place of the tamari and hemp tofu (or your favorite soy-free tofu).
• I use black salt (kama nalak) here, because it has a really eggy, sulphur-y taste. I feel like it adds to the flavor overall, but it’s totally not necessary.
• To give this some extra flavor, I like to use sesame oil to cook things in. The key here is to make sure the sesame oil doesn’t get too hot, so I tend to cook it for a little longer on lower heat. Totally not a necessary step, though.
• While I strive to provide accurate nutritional information, different brands and varieties of ingredients may have different nutritional values, so your calculations may vary.

Low Carb Vegan Comfort Food: Tomato & Tofu Stir Fry (番茄豆腐)

Print Recipe

This heart low carb vegan dish is easy to make and the perfect comfort food for a chilly day.

Course entree

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 2 mins

Cook Time 7 mins

Total Time 9 mins

Servings 1 bowl

Calories 277

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil, for more flavor
• 1 tbsp low-sodium tamari
• 2 stalks scallions sliced
• 1/2 cup 75g sliced tomato
• 1/4 block 100g firm tofu
• pinch of pepper and black salt
• 1/2 cup 85g cooked cauliflower rice

Instructions

• Heat the oil and tamari in a small pan on medium-low heat and toss in scallions (reserving a few for garnish, if desired) and sliced tomatoes.
• Stir everything around and cover the pan, so the liquid doesn't all evaporate. Cook for around 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.
• Crumble tofu into the pan and stir everything around, until the tofu is coated in the tamari/tomato juice/oil mixture. Cook for around 2 minutes, uncovered until the tofu is warmed through and the excess liquid has been absorbed or evaporated.
• Remove from the heat, season with pepper and black salt and extra scallions and serve over the cauliflower rice.

Notes

If you don't have black salt, regular salt will do! It just won't be quite as "eggy" tasting (which could be a bonus, depending).

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.2g | Protein: 16.6g | Fat: 19.8g | Fiber: 5g