Crispy tofu stir-fry with sweet Sichuan sauce and jasmine rice

Preparation:

Cook the rice Rinse the rice. In a small sauce pot, combine the rice and 1 cup (1½ cups) water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, cover, and keep warm. While the rice cooks, prepare the tofu. 2 Prep and crisp the tofu Pat the tofu dry with paper towels; crumble the tofu into corn-kernel-size pieces. In a medium bowl, add the cornstarch and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the tofu and toss to coat. In a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 tablespoons (6 TBL) oil until hot but not smoking. Working in batches if needed, add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tofu to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt and pepper. Wipe out the pan. While the tofu cooks, start preparing the vegetables. 3 Prep the vegetables and sauce Finely chop, press, or grate enough garlic to measure 1 teaspoon (2 tsp). Trim the stem ends from the maitake mushrooms; separate the mushrooms. Remove the stem, ribs, and seeds from the bell pepper; cut the pepper into 1-inch pieces. Trim the root ends from the scallions; thinly slice the scallions on the diagonal, keeping the white and green parts separate. Set aside the green parts for garnish. In a small bowl, stir together the sweet Sichuan sauce base, 1 tablespoon (2 TBL) water, and as much sambal oelek as you like. 4 Cook the stir-fry In the same pan used for the tofu, warm 2 to 3 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, and white parts of the scallions, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Sichuan sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tofu and carrots and cook until the tofu is warmed through and the vegetables are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.