My wife and I have had some busy schedules in recent weeks. But the good news is that home-style tofu cooking has returned.
It’s as if our minds are calm.
Yes, her tofu cooking skills remain far superior to my Chinese cooking prowess. I’ve mainly helped in the eating department.
I’ve been pretty successful that I feel I need a promotion. You know, something like: Senior tofu eater.
Her latest brilliant, delicious creation is one that follows the Niang Tofu style – meaning that the flavors appear over a period.
It’s a steamed tofu dish with stuffed shrimp on top in a carved-out area of the tofu slab. The fresh seafood flavor is apparent. The tofu remains moist.
Chinese oyster sauce is drizzled over it at the end to add a nice, light hint of extra flavor.
For some reason, I’ve always associated dishes that use the smoky-flavored Cantonese black beans with cold weather.
You know, when the sky is dark and weather blustery, nothing beats the taste for me.
The sight of the freshly-cooked dish – along with the heat making what looks like a smoky trail when it hits cool air – is refreshing because I know my stomach will soon be full with scrumptious food, especially when it’s my mom’s black bean chicken tofu.
You’ve might have had a Cantonese black bean dish in the United States or in China, especially since this regional cuisine is served at top restaurants and hotels even outside the southern areas of Guangdong province and Hong Kong.
My mom says the dish uses what she describes in Cantonese as “wok mei.”
That means “that diners can taste the balance of the ingredients in the mouth after eating,” she says.
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.
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)Â 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.
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.
I enjoy eating this fantastic dish on cold, winter days. But people enjoy it throughout the year. It ranks as one of my favorite tofu dishes.
The main keys are frying a tasty bed of food – including squid, garlic and onions – in a pan or wok before adding the fried bean curd and eating it right after it leaves the stove.
This cooking method enables the fried texture of the tofu to absorb the mixed flavors of fresh seafood, cooking wine and soy sauce. If you’ve had a long day or the weather is frigid, this meal can bring a smile to your face.
At least, it brings one to mine. The aroma is a kick, too. So, thank you Dan (my wife)Â for all your terrific cooking. Oh yes, serve on white rice.
This meal also is versatile. We’ve been using wild squid caught off the California coast. The Napa cabbage is soft but has a crunchy hint to it.
In the past, my wife has added pork to it. Some people will throw in shrimp. Cantonese barbecue pork is an option.
If you’re neither a fan of squid nor pork, toss in chili peppers for heat and taste.
But the squid really is key. You also can keep the squid and still add the peppers. If you’re growing cilantro in your garden or have some on hand, you can use it as a garnish.Â
And if garlic makes you happy, try it with raw cloves on the side.
The dish is popular in Southern China, particularly in Guangzhou. In Mandarin, people might refer to it as “doufu bao,” because restaurants often dish it up in clay pots.
These pots, often a tan or dark color, retain heat and keep the fried tofu soft. They’re typically heated on top of a stove. I’ve seen some dishes cooked right in them.
The price range for making this dish is about $5 to $7. That presumes that you already have the soy sauce, cooking wine and other minor ingredients. Cooking time is about 20 to 30 minutes.
Give it a try. Let me know what you think. Add more flavors or pull back to suit your taste.
After the jump is a basic slide show, the list of ingredients, steps and other details.
This tofu dish might look simple. But it’s not until you bite into the bean curd or broccoli that you realize the striking taste and thought behind it.
That’s because one key to this dish is hot oil, which is added to a soy sauce and garlic mixture. This hot oil, which can be olive or vegetable, brings the garlic flavor out in a “flash.”
When drizzled over twice-fried tofu pieces and boiled, semi-crunchy broccoli, you have an outstanding dish. It’s typically not sold in restaurants.
My wife, Dan, and mother-in-law, Ping, thought about different cooking methods and, in a way, came up with this dish using their creativity.
And yes, using hot oil in cooking is popular in China.
I think this dish will appeal to vegetarians and non vegetarians. Also, many experts point to the value of eating broccoli.
Overall with this dish, the hot oil, soy sauce and garlic mixture really meshes well with the fried texture of the tofu. By not overcooking the broccoli, you have a crunchy element to balance the inside softness of the tofu block.
With summer approaching and people already looking for hot-weather relief, I thought I’d post notes on a cold tofu appetizer that uses preserved duck eggs.
The nice touch is that the soft tofu soaks up the slight amount of soy sauce and Chinese sesame oil that is drizzled over it.
Add a pinch of sugar, salt, chicken bouillon powder and thinly-sliced green onions and it’s an excellent alternative to bean curd that needs to be served hot.
If you’ve never tried Chinese-style preserved duck eggs, don’t worry. The subtle texture and low-key taste matches the soft tofu.
The only catch: I really can’t give you an accurate description of how the eggs taste. But they’re less firm than a boiled chicken egg.
And if you really don’t like preserved duck eggs, no problem. Just let me know because I can always use them.
This dish pairs well with almost any food. You can eat it by itself. You can drink beer or tea with it.
It takes about 15 minutes to prepare. If you have ingredients, such as the Chinese sesame oil on hand, you’re looking at a price range of $2 to $3.
The tub of soft tofu that my wife, Dan, and I bought cost $1.49. The duck eggs that we bought sold for $2.29 for six. You can use one or two eggs.
My wife likes to make it with green onions on top. Some people enjoy adding chopped cilantro, diced, fresh shrimp, mushrooms or pure chili oil.
Experiment. See what works for you.
After the jump, I’ve included a basic slideshow that outlines the steps.
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