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Restaurant-quality “tofu sandwiches” from Chef Fu Pei-Mei: Worth serving guests

 

In terms of complexity, these tofu sandwiches bathed in a green onion-and-ginger sauce rank up there. At least for me.

The preparation took at least two hours – much longer than I thought.

But this dish, in the end, was fantastic. It combines crispy, pan-fried firm tofu with the subtle flavors of the green onion and ginger.

It’s worth serving family members and special guests. Really.

They might think you’ve enrolled in some fabulous Chinese cooking class.

The thinking behind these bean curd sandwiches from Chef Fu Pei-Mei is layered and sophisticated. She published her recipe in Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book Volume II, which is in English and Chinese.

My wife, Dan, and I used ground turkey to keep the fat content low. Chicken and pork are other options. If you don’t prefer meat, you can leave it out.

I’m used to some cooks stuffing tofu with meat or seafood and then frying it.

But Fu adds an extra step: By adding the stuffed tofu in a sauce of onions, ginger and chicken broth, you cook the bean curd for a second time.

The green onion and ginger flavors add subtle flavors that I appreciated. The flour-fried tofu meshes with the chicken broth sauce, which is thickened by starch. Inside the tofu, you have a layer of ground meat.

In a way, it reminds me of the stuffed tofu that I like at the restaurant, Hing Loon, in Seattle.

The difference, though, is that there’s a sense of accomplishment in making this dish at home. You also can watch how much salt and oil you use in the dish.

Because frying is needed, you will use oil – about a half an inch in a small frying pan. When I prepared the chicken broth, I used a dollop of soup paste.

I forgot that the paste can be salty when there’s not enough water. The next time, I’ll be more cautious to have a less salty taste.

It’s also a good idea to use firm tofu. Even the medium-firm tofu that I bought was a bit too watery.

The meal started out on a day in which I told Dan that I would cook since she makes all of the tofu dishes.

I pulled out Fu’s book. I cut the tofu carefully, put the meat inside and began coating it with flour. I’m glad Dan realized that my coating was too light.

She pointed out that had I fried it in a pan, the sandwiches would have fallen apart. So, she put more flour in a rice bowl and began dipping each sandwich.

As one of the final touches, we added some fresh cilantro from our garden. My wife also put sesame oil on top to add more flavor.

We’ll certainly be making this dish again.

Oh yeah, the second dish that night was fried broccoli, red bell peppers and garlic. We just placed everything on one dish.

Photos, ingredients and cooking steps are below.

 

 

This recipe is from Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book Volume II, copyright Chiu-Yu Printing Co. Ltd.

The book I have is from my aunt. It was published in the 1970s. Back then, it only cost $5.

Her Volume I cook book can be bought online.

Ingredients:

• Firm tofu (16 ounces or whatever you can get)
• Ground pork (4 ounces)
• This is optional. Or use chicken or turkey
• Salt (1/3 of a teaspoon for ground meat)
• Cooking wine (1 teaspoon)
• Cornstarch (1 teaspoon)
• Flour (1/2 cup)
• Vegetable or olive oil (3 tablespoons)
• Green onions (2 tablespoons)
• Ginger (1/2 tablespoon)
• Soy sauce (2 tablespoons)
• Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• Soup stock (1/2 cup)
• Cornstarch (1/2 tablespoon for mixture)
• Water (1/2 tablespoon)

Steps:

• Mix the ground meat with salt, wine and cornstarch.
• Cut tofu block horizontally.
• You’ll want four 1/4-inch slices.
• Coat each tofu piece with flour.
• Spread a layer of ground meat on one or each piece.
• Make them into sandwiches.
• Cut each sandwich into six or eight pieces.
• Coat thoroughly with flour.
• In a frying pan, cook over low heat.
• After they’re golden brown, remove.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pan.
• Fry the green onions and ginger for a few seconds.
• Add the soup, soy sauce and salt.
• Add the tofu sandwiches.
• Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
• Add the cornstarch paste and 1 tablespoon of hot oil.
• Serve hot.