Express Bites: Fried Rice & Glazed Tofu

This is my entry for Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking Event. The challenge is to make a complete meal in 30 minutes or less! Here is my express post for an express event...
The plan: Reincarnate 3 cups of left-over cooked brown rice (cooked to perfection in the oven, thanks Alanna!) as a fresh weeknight dinner in 30 minutes


The strategy:
1. Have some fresh vegetables on hand, in this case, carrots, mushrooms, onions, cilantro
2. Keep some convenient pantry items in stock, in this case, extra-firm tofu, canned coconut milk and canned Thai red curry paste

The menu: Saute the vegetables with cooked rice to make a quick "fried" rice. Serve with tofu glazed with a spicy coconut sauce. Idea for tofu: The Wednesday Chef's post, Deborah Madison's recipe.

Let the cooking begin!
0-5 mins:
* Pull out tofu, mushrooms, carrots, cilantro, cooked rice from the fridge
* Drain tofu, cut the block into 12 slices or so. Lay the tofu slices in layers of clean dishcloth/ paper towels to remove excess water
* Wash mushrooms and carrots

5-10 mins:
* Heat a wok/ pan with 1 t oil. Heat 1 T oil in a separate non-stick skillet.
* Slice onions, dice mushrooms and carrots
* Saute the onions in the wok for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the veggies and let them cook.

10-15 mins:
* Lay the tofu slices in a single layer and let them brown on one side
* In a small bowl, mix 1/2 C coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, 2 T soy sauce, 1 T lemon juice, 2 t Thai red curry paste (or to taste), 1 t sugar

15-20 minutes:
* Add brown rice and 2 T soy sauce to the veggies, stir well, cover and let the rice heat up (no need to add salt)
* Turn the tofu over and let it cook on the other side

20-25 mins:
* Turn off heat on the rice. Stir in lots of freshly ground pepper and a handful of minced cilantro
* Pour the sauce mix into the tofu. It will bubble up and start cooking down. Turn over the tofu once, to allow it to be glazed on both sides. Turn off the heat when the sauce has cooked down a bit.

25-30 mins:
* Set places at the dinner table. Serve the tofu on a bed of rice. Spoon extra sauce over the tofu.

Enjoy!

This meal is being updated in the list of brown rice ideas on this post.

For dozens of fantastic ideas for express meals of every category, check out Shaheen's round-ups here and here.