The weekends always call for a splurge and that’s even true of people that don’t have Monday through Friday jobs. I’m not sure who came up with the idea of weekends, but no matter your place in life or where you live for that matter, they’re usually celebratory to some degree.

In our house, weekends mean extra special foods; meals that feel like a splurge even if they’re far from it. This was true in my family growing up as well. My normally health nut mother would pick up pizza, or my personal favorite, Chinese food. My favorite was sesame chicken. By the way my eyes lit up when we sat down for Friday Chinese food, you’d think I had a severe MSG addiction.

Why It’s Healthy

But this recipe feels like a splurge even though it’s really not. First of all, I’ve been basically swimming in kale lately because it’s all over the farmers’ market and that’s a good thing considering how good it makes you look and feel. One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It’s also a good source of minerals including copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. That’s pretty incredible.

Next up, instead of using copious amounts of oil and salt in this recipe, I fried the rice in a little bit of oil and then made a dressing to individually dress each dish before serving it. It’s the same premise as topping a dish with a touch of cheese before serving it up rather than using excessive amounts in the recipe.

I used sunflower oil instead of a low grade vegetable oil. Sunflower oil contains low amounts of saturated fats, but it’s loaded in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. I don’t have a problem with fats, especially if you’re vegan, you really need to make sure you’re getting enough healthy fats.

Hoisin Marinated Tofu Fried Rice

1 cup white basmati rice
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 pound extra firm tofu
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp Nama shoyu
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sweet frozen peas
1 cup finely chopped kale, washed, stems removed
1/4 cup spicy hoisin sauce (recipe to follow)

Method

1. Rinse rice and then add to water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until water evaporates. Set aside.

2. At the same time, marinate the block of tofu in a combination of hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, and Nama shoyu while the rice is cooking. Remove from marinade and cut into 1 inch cubes.

3. Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil at a time to medium heat in a small pot, leaving at least 1 tbsp remaining to fry the rice. Add about six pieces of uncooked tofu in at a time so as not to crowd the skillet. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

4. Once tofu is fried, heat a large skillet up to medium heat and add in remaining tbsp of oil. Add in onions and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add in kale and peas and cook another two minutes. Add in rice and tofu and cook five more minutes.

5. Serve up plates and top individually with spicy hoisin sauce.

Spicy Hoisin Sauce

2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp water
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp Nama shoyu
1/4 tsp chili pepper sauce

Method

1. Whisk together ingredients in a bowl.

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