Oriental Vegetables With Tofu Recipe

Trim vegetables and cut the larger ones into bite-size diagonal shapes, squares or slices. Peel the onion and slice downward into wedges, then separate into petal shapes. String celery and slice on the diagonal, remove seeds and ribs from pepper and cut into squares. Dry the tofu on paper towels and cut it into bite-size squares. Heat the oil gently with the garlic and ginger in a wok or frying pan. When oil is hot add tofu and saute until tofu is browned on both sides. Remove with chopsticks or slotted spoon, discard garlic and ginger and set tofu aside. Add onion, pepper and celery to the pan and saute on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add each of the longer-cooking vegetables in turn and saute for a few minutes between additions and tossing every minute or so, then add fast-cooking vegetables and toss a minute or two longer. Gently stir in tofu, bean sprouts if using, and heat through. Season with soy sauce to taste, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately, with a bowl of steaming white or brown boiled rice if you wish.