Braised Bean Curd with Mushrooms

1 piece (350 g) semi-firm beancurd (available at markets, steeped in water) or firm beancurd
4 pcs dried shitake mushrooms, diced

30 g minced chicken or pork
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tsp light soya sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp corn flour, mixed with 1 tsp water
vegetable oil
250 g xiao bai cai (bok choy)
1 tsp salt

Marinate minced chicken with light soya sauce. Wash xiao bai cai (bok choy) and cut bigger leaves into 2.

Cut beancurd into 4 pieces and pat dry. Heat enough oil in a wok or pan for deep-frying beancurd, about ½ cup. When oil is smoking hot, add beancurd and fry till golden brown on both sides on high heat. Drain on paper towels.

Whilst frying beancurd, bring a pot of water to a boil and add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp vegetable oil. Blanch xiao bai cai (bok choy) briefly. Drain and remove to a plate.

After frying beancurd, leave 1 tsp oil in the wok or pan. Add garlic and fry till lightly golden. Add chicken and stir/jab to break up the mince & diced mushrooms. When chicken is cooked, add ⅓ cup water, fried beancurd and oyster sauce. Braise uncovered on high heat for 5 minutes or so. When sauce is reduced by half, lower the heat to medium. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Place beancurd on xiao bai cai, leaving the sauce in the pot. Add corn flour and stir till sauce is thickened. Drizzle sauce over beancurd. Serve.

Tofu with Minced Meat

Ingredients

    50 grams minced pork

    1/2 tsp light soy sauce

    1/2 tsp sugar

    1/2 tsp corn starch

    1/2 tsp sesame oil for marinade

    a few dashes white pepper powder to taste

    1 tbsp cooking oil

    3 garlic cloves minced

    1 tsp salted soya beans (aka dou jiang, ‘taucheo’, 豆酱)

    1 tsp dried fermented black beans rinsed, patted dry & mashed slightly with a fork

    2 chilli padi sliced thinly, to taste

    1/2 cup water seasoning; mix well

    1/2 tsp dark soy sauce seasoning; mix well

    1/2 tbsp sesame oil seasoning; mix well

    cornstarch solution mix 1 tbsp water with 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

    150 grams firm Chinese tofu cubed

    1 tbsp chopped spring onions (scallions)

Instructions

In a bowl, marinade minced pork with light soy sauce, sugar, corn starch, sesame oil and white pepper for about 10 minutes.

Heat oil in wok and add the garlic, salted soya beans, fermented black beans and chilli. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the marinated meat and stir fry until no longer pink, breaking the meat up to smaller bits using the spatula or turner.

Add seasoning (water, dark soy sauce and sesame oil). Bring to a boil.

Gently add beancurd cubes and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes, taking care not to break the tofu cubes.

Thicken with cornstarch solution and garnish with chopped spring onions.

Cooking Note

1. You can add mushrooms (such as hon shimeji or sliced button mushrooms) or prawns (shells & veins removed) at step 4 for a more complete meal.

Firm Bean Curd With Minced Pork and Prawns

Firm Bean Curd With Minced Pork and Prawns
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 pieces of hard bean curd, cut into bite size
3 tbsp of minced pork
6 prawns, cut into pieces
1 stalk of spring onion, cut into 2" length
1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp of fermented soy bean( you can replace with Hoisin sauce), smashed
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
150ml of water
3 tbsp of cooking oil

Seasoning:

1 tbs light soy sauce to taste

Method:

Heat some oil in a stir-fry pan, pan-fried the hard bean curd till golden brown. Set aside.

In the same pan, with the excess oil, saute garlic till fragrant. Add the minced meat to stir fry. Stir in fermented bean sauce(Hoisin Sauce), chili, hard bean curd and water. Leave the mixture simmering for a while. Latly add the prawns and light soy sauce to taste.

Add the spring onion, stir briskly, dish up and serve hot with rice.