rss feedA good economic sign: Tofu maker goes solar – and I learned of chef behind movie
This is a good one. I really don’t know where to start.
So, let’s do it chronologically.
Archive for the ‘fu pei-mei’ Category
On the tofu beat: Family Style bean curd
posted by brad wong on 2009.08.27, under bean curd, family style tofu, fu pei-mei, recipes, tofu, video
I have long been a fan of Family Style tofu – known in Mandarin as “jia chang doufu.”
During one of my China swings – I think when I studied there - I would frequent a down-home restaurant, spot the waitress and say: “jia chang doufu.”
I’d order the dish repeatedly: Tasty. Inexpensive. Filling.
When prepared just right, the dish offers the proper amount of meat with fried, tender soybean cake and enough hearty sauce to mix with the rice in your bowl.
So naturally, when I spotted a recipe from Fu Pei-Mei, I thought I’d give it a try.
Worth trying (from Chef Fu Pei-Mei): Sprouts rolled in bean curd skin
posted by brad wong on 2009.08.10, under fu pei-mei, recipes, tofu, tofu skin, tofu skin rolls with sprouts, video, wow
Chef Fu Pei-Mei certainly figured something out in this yummy, crunchy and slightly chewy tofu dish that she named “ma la dou yu.”
It’s served with a sesame-chili-green onion sauce.
Instead of the bean curd remaining soft, it becomes crispy. And instead of other ingredients, such as peanuts (see tofu salad below) or broccoli remaining crunchy (to balance the soft soybean cake), the bean sprouts keep their chewy texture.
Alone, the sprouts and fried tofu skin wouldn’t be completely satisfying – possibly a bit dry and you might sense the lingering oil used for frying.
So, I’m glad she concocted a sauce of sesame paste, chili oil and green onions.
In the end, this rolled sprout dish lets you work with tofu skin – which you might have eaten at dim sum restaurants.
The sauce complements the fried tofu and soft sprouts.
Restaurant-quality “tofu sandwiches” from Chef Fu Pei-Mei: Worth serving guests
posted by brad wong on 2009.07.18, under bean curd, fu pei-mei, recipes, tofu, tofu sandwiches, video, wow
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.
Decades later, Fu Pei-Mei’s Chinese recipes (particularly tofu) still inspire. Who was she?
From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, Fu Pei-Mei demonstrated more than 600 recipes on her television cooking show in Taiwan. Photo printed in Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book Volume II. Copyright Chiu-Yu Printing Co. Ltd.
She has been described as the Julia Child of the Chinese culinary world.
Over her nearly 40-year televised career in Taiwan, Fu Pei-Mei demonstrated how to cook more than 4,000 Chinese dishes.
She was fluent in Mandarin, Japanese and English. She traveled the world, and particularly in Asia, to help others improve their gastronomical skills.
I came across one of her cook books, Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book Volume II, as I do other things in life. I stumbled upon it. I was visiting my parents in California and grabbed it to read at home.
I thought it was a cookbook that I bought in Hong Kong or Southern China years ago.
