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.

If you’re trying to cut down on eating too much oil, you also can steam the fried tofu instead of pan frying pieces for extra crispness and texture.

I would have never figured all of this out had it not been for Dan and Ping. Both are excellent cooks.

Ping lives in China. But she visits TofuWatch.com periodically and talks with Dan about cooking suggestions and bean curd dishes.

Ping only speaks Mandarin. So, she looks at the photographs and clicks on links.

Obviously, I’m grateful for their help and support from family, friends and visitors.

The dish should take about 20 minutes to prepare. We used the long tofu pieces (each one is two inches long) because they’re larger than the cubes.

I forgot the exact price of the fried tofu. But it’s typically under $2 per pack. You don’t need a lot of broccoli to make this dish work. 

Ingredients:

• Fried tofu blocks (12 ounces)
• Broccoli heads (a dozen)
• Garlic (three cloves)
• Soy sauce (about two tablespoons)
• Olive or vegetable oil (about 1/4 cup if you pan fry)
• Sugar (1/4 teaspoon)
• Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
• Chicken bouillon powder (a pinch)

Steps:

• Boil a few cups of water.
• Boil the broccoli heads for 60 to 90 seconds.
• Drain the hot water.
• Add cold water to broccoli and drain again.
• Add 1/4 cup of oil to frying pan.
• Add fried tofu blocks.
• Fry on medium-high heat for three to five minutes.
• Keep turning the tofu blocks as they fry.
• If you want them crispier, fry a bit longer.
• Remove from frying pan and place in serving bowl.
• Put the soy sauce in a ceramic bowl.
• Chop the garlic and add.
• Add the sugar, salt and chicken powder.
• Place ceramic bowl in kitchen sink.
• In a pan, heat up three tablespoons of oil.
• Turn heat to high.
• Watch the oil carefully.
• After you see a bit of smoke from the oil, remove pan from heat.
• Add the oil to the soy sauce and garlic mixture.
• The oil will cook the garlic, giving fragrant smell.
• Use a spoon to drizzle mixture on tofu and broccoli.