June 28, 2009: Mapo Tofu As Well As Chinese Greens

Jo's pumpkin together with cumin soup isn't the starting fourth dimension recipe nosotros tried from the warming entries inwards our recent giveaway. On the really solar daytime that nosotros read QuinnT's vegetarian version of Mapo Tofu, nosotros resolved to gear upwards it for dinner. QuinnT substitutes the traditional pork or beef mince amongst TVP, together with promises that "It's spicy plenty to tickle your olfactory organ together with warm y'all upwards on a chill(i) winter's day."

Let me enjoin y'all directly upwards that this recipe is the business. I must acknowledge to wimping out on the chilli dosage, together with I regret that, but it's yet a cracker of a dish. We had to a greater extent than problem than I expected inwards tracking downward Chinese fermented wide beans together with Chinese fermented dark beans - inwards the cease nosotros picked out jars of dark edible bean sauce together with spicy soya edible bean glue from QuinnT)

1/2 loving cup TVP, non yet rehydrated
1 'beef' stock cube
500g tofu
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons chilli paste, to taste
1 teaspoon soil Szechuan peppercorns
1 1/2 tablespoons dark edible bean sauce (try to larn out Chinese fermented dark beans instead if y'all can)
1 1/2 tablespoons spicy soya edible bean glue (try to larn out Dou ban jiang/Chinese fermented wide beans instead if y'all can)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
water or vegetable stock, every bit needed
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 scallions, chopped

Put the TVP inwards a modest bowl together with crumble over the 'beef' stock cube. Pour over 1/2 loving cup of boiling H2O together with laid the TVP aside to rehydrate.

Chop the tofu into cubes together with house them inwards a bowl. Sprinkle over the salt, together with then embrace the tofu amongst boiling H2O together with allow it stand.

Heat the crude oil inwards a wok, together with then add together the garlic, chilli glue together with Szechuan pepper. Stir-fry them until fragrant, together with then add together the edible bean pastes, carbohydrate together with soy sauce. Stir through the TVP.

Gently drain the diced tofu. Once the sauce is bubbling, add together them to the mix together with brand certain they're good coated inwards sauce. Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes on depression heat, adding a trivial extra H2O or stock if it looks every bit good dry. (This is a expert fourth dimension to prep the Chinese greens!)

In a modest cup, mix the cornflour amongst only plenty H2O to degree a paste. Stir the glue through the tofu together with sauce. After allowing only a infinitesimal or 2 for thickening, transfer your Mapo Tofu to a serving dish together with sprinkle over the scallions.

Chinese greens inwards 'oyster' sauce
(adapted from a recipe together with tips from Rasa Malaysia)

4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
large bunch of assorted Chinese greens (I intend nosotros used bok choy together with choy sum)
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
several dashes of white pepper

In your smallest saucepan, oestrus upwards 2 teaspoons of oil. Stir shaver the minced garlic until it only begins to plough lite brown, together with then transfer the garlic crude oil to a bowl together with laid it aside. The garlic volition brownish upwards farther every bit it sits inwards the hot oil.

Bring a large pot of H2O to the boil. Blanche the greens inwards the H2O for 20-30 seconds, inwards batches if y'all require to, draining them every bit shortly every bit they're slightly wilted.

Back inwards the smallest saucepan, stir together the remaining oil, oyster sauce, water, carbohydrate together with white pepper until they're a smoothen sauce.

Arrange the blanched greens on a plate, pour over the oyster sauce together with and then the garlic oil. Serve together with consume immediately!