Meatless Monday: Curry Ginger Banana Stir Fry

You read right, banana stir fry. We were skeptical, but we’re convinced, and we think you’ll love it. Neil has been asking for stir fry for a few weeks and on Saturday, on a whim, pulled out the stir fry noodles and assessed what we had around. Coming up with very little and not wanting to take a trip to the store, we eyed the duet of bananas above the fridge, and pondered, could we? Should we? It wouldn’t be totally unlike us to use non-traditional ingredients so why not? Apparently though, we’re not the first to think of bananas in stir fry. There are quite a variations out there, almost at the crossroads where Chinese food meeds Indian food. And what a delicious part in the road it is.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
adapted from The Raw Project
2 fresh bananas, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 tablespoons milk (regular or other)

For the stir fry:
6 ounces imitation egg noodles (ramen), prepared according to instructions
2-3 cups veggies of your choice
8 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, sliced into bite size pieces
2 tbsp. olive oil, sesame oil, or peanut oil stir-frying tofu.
chili flakes or sriracha to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To prepare sauce:

1. Place all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend to a smooth texture.

To prepare stir fry:

1. Prepare noodles or rice according to directions.
2. Stir-fry tofu in wok or large skillet with olive oil, sesame oil, or peanut oil, or a combination of any.
3. Add veggies and stir to coat in remaining oil. Stir together and cook for 3-4 minutes before adding noodles. Add a little more oil to coat all ingredients and continue stirring.
4. Pour sauce evenly over stir fry and stir to coat. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add chili pepper flakes or sriracha and serve.

Okay, so this goes against everything that Meatless Monday is about, but I think this would taste amazing with more of a teriyaki marinated tofu …or meat. It was superb all on its own, but we felt collectively that it would be even better with a little extra salty to counter the sweet for added flavor. Nonetheless still awesome, and I love the smooth and creamy texture and the way it coated the veggies and tofu. And as with all of our stir fries it’s done in 20 minutes or less, perfect for getting you through the last torturous week of another semester in grad school. Well at least for me anyway.