This scrumptious stir-fry is made with crispy tofu and stir-fried green beans in a savory sesame garlic sauce. It's satisfying, flavorful, and a total cinch to make!
Green beans are in season! And if you live in my house, green beans are really in season. See, I'm kind of the world's worst (but also most enthusiastic!) home vegetable gardener. I have so many failures with squash, tomatoes, leafy greens ... you name it. But for whatever reason, green beans are one of the few summer veggies that I always manage to grow successfully.
I like to celebrate by coming up with recipes starring green beans. Last year it was my Lebanese green bean stew. Other celebratory dishes include my green bean curry and green bean casserole. This year, it's a wonderful stir-fry featuring green beans and tofu. It's delicious!
I don't usually incorporate green beans into stir-fries that feature other veggies, because they cook a bit differently. Green beans are firmer, and take a bit more time to cook. I also like to use a little less heat and a little more oil to get just the right texture.
With all that in mind, I've made green beans the star of this scrumptious stir-fry. If you've a successful green bean gardener like me, you'll want to make this for sure. And if not, just go get some at the store!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Water.
- Soy sauce.
- Dark soy sauce. This has a darker color and more intense flavor than regular soy sauce. Many grocery stores carry it in the international aisle. If yours doesn't, try an Asian market.
- Vegan oyster sauce. This is another product that you can find in either the international aisle, or in an Asian market.
- Toasted sesame oil. Most stores carry this in the international section.
- Rice vinegar. You can also find this in the international section, probably right next to the toasted sesame oil.
- Sambal oelek. This is a spicy chili paste that will add some heat to your stir-fry sauce. Leave it out for a milder dish. Can you guess where it's sold? You got it — the international aisle.
- Brown sugar. Use organic brown sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Conventional brown sugar may be processed using animal bone char, so it's not always vegan.
- Cornstarch.
- Black pepper.
- Peanut oil. You can swap this out with another neutral high-heat oil if you'd like. Canola oil, corn oil, and vegetable oil will all work.
- Tofu. Super-firm tofu works best for this recipe. The texture is great, and it's ready to cook straight from the package. If you can't get your hands on extra-firm tofu, use super-firm tofu, but press it before cooking.
- Fresh green beans.
- Garlic.
- Toasted sesame seeds.
- Cooked rice. Use any variety of rice that you normally like to enjoy with a stir-fry.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by making your sauce. Stir cold water, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, sambal oelek, brown sugar, cornstarch, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
Pan-fry your tofu. Coat the bottom of a wok or skillet with some oil, heat it up, and add diced tofu. Cook the tofu cubes for a few minutes on each side, until they're golden brown and crispy. Move them to a plate when they're done.
Add some more oil to the wok and turn up the heat. Add the green beans. Stir-fry them for a few minutes. Occasionally stop stirring and let them sit on the hot cooking surface so they brown and blister. Keep doing this until they are bright green and tender-crisp.
Lower the heat and give the wok a few moments to cool down, then push the green beans to the side and add minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for about thirty seconds, stirring and being careful to prevent it from burning.
Tip: Depending on the type of burner and cooking vessel you're using, it may take a minute or two for the temperature to come down. I'm using a carbon steel wok and induction burner, so things cooled down quickly. If you're using an electric cooktop or something like cast iron, it may take a little longer. You're ready to add your garlic when the sound of the beans sizzling has significantly slowed.
Stir up the green beans and garlic. Raise the heat back up, then add the cooked tofu back to the wok or skillet. Pour the sauce over the tofu and green beans.
Stir-fry the tofu and green beans for about a minute, just until the sauce thickens a bit and forms a nice coating on them.
Give the dish a generous sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Your tofu and green bean stir-fry is ready to serve. Enjoy it with some rice!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover stir-fried tofu and green beans will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days. You can reheat it in the microwave, or in a pan on the stove, adding a splash of water if needed.
More Vegan Stir-Fry Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sesame Garlic Stir-Fried Tofu & Green Beans
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Stir-Fry
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
- 1 (16 ounce/454 gram) package super-firm tofu, diced (about ½-inch)
- 12 ouces fresh green beans, ends trimmed
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Stir the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or container. Set this aside.
- Coat the bottom of a large wok with one tablespoon of the oil and place it over medium heat (Note1). Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the tofu cubes in a single layer (Note 2). Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces once or twice, until they're browned and crispy. Transfer them to a plate when done.
- Add the remaining oil to the wok and turn up the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add the green beans. Stir-fry the beans for about 6 to 8 minutes, until they are tender-crisp, bright green, and blistered in spots. Stop stirring every now and then, giving the beans 20 seconds or so to sizzle in the oil. (See Note 3 regarding precautions.)
- Turn the heat down to medium. Give the wok a few moments to cool down (Note 4), then push the green beans to the side and add the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds.
- Stir the garlic and the green beans together. Raise the heat back to medium-high. Return the cooked tofu to the wok, then pour the sauce over the tofu and beans. Continue stir-frying everything for about a minute, until the sauce has thickened and coats the tofu and beans.
- Remove the wok from heat and sprinkle the stir-fry with sesame seeds.
- Serve the stir-fry over rice.
Notes
- A skillet can be used if you don't have a wok, but it must be capable of withstanding high heat and have somewhat of a nonstick cooking surface for the tofu. Cast iron will work. If you don't have something that meets both conditions, use two separate cooking vessels — nonstick for pan-frying the tofu, and high-heat for stir-frying.
- You can cook the tofu in batches if it won't all fit at once.
- Be very careful here as you'll be using more oil than usual for stir-frying. Watch out for sputtering hot oil, and remove the wok from heat if it starts to smoke.
- Some materials, such as cast iron, may take a bit longer to cool down. Listen for the sizzling to slow before adding your garlic.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.
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This is SERIOUSLY one of my favorite dishes! Prep work is simple and the cooking goes so fast in a large wok on higher heat. Spicy enough to let you know but mild enough to allow flavors to pop. I love the green beans - beautifully green with light char and al dente bite. SO good!
This was really good. I enjoyed the spiciness level of the dish. It's comfortably in the middle, not so mild and not to hot. I'll be adding this to our rotation.
Thanks for the recipe!
SO tasty! Was a hit with the whole family!