Sesame Tofu with Spring Vegetables and Quinoa

NOTES:
– Tamari sauce is wheat free soy sauce. You can also use a regular soy sauce if you do not need to stick to gluten free ingredients. Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine for cooking.
– You can find the above ingredients at Whole Foods, Asian markets, or the Amazon.com grocery store. Many large markets have Asian food sections too.
– Adjust ingredients according to taste. This recipe is more of a method. Use any veggies you have on hand and you can also change the ratio of sauces according to taste preference.
– You can toast your own sesame seeds by putting them into a wide frying pan over medium heat. Shake the pan occasionally. Seeds are done toasting in about 3-5 minutes. When they are slightly browned and fragrant, take them off the heat and let cool. Store in a tightly covered jar at room temperature.

METHOD
Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to package directions. When done, set aside.

In a medium sized bowl make sauce by combining garlic, tamari, mirin, fish sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Add tofu pieces to the sauce and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb flavors.

Preheat a wok or large non stick frying pan over medium high heat. Carefully add carrots and the tofu-sauce mixture to the pan/wok. Let it boil for about 6-8 minutes until the carrots soften. Make sure to toss gently with tongs often. Add snow peas at the last. Then loosely cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 2-3 minutes longer until the snow peas turn bright green but remain crispy.

Serve the tofu and veggie mixture served over the quinoa. You can season the quinoa with more of the sauce ingredients if you wish.

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
-dried Nori Seaweed, chopped
-toasted Sesame Seeds
– Furikake seasoning blend
-chopped chives or green onion
-chopped peanuts