Homestyle Tofu

Jiachang Doufu (家常豆腐)

Incredibly flavorful slices of fried tofu are combined with a homestyle medley of bell peppers, wood ear mushrooms, and garlic sprouts.

Homestyle Tofu is a simple dish in which deep-fried diamonds of Tofu are coated in a delish sauce. While usually made with just a touch of heat, this sauce can actually be quite mild. The flavor of Aromatics like Garlic and Ginger combined with basic Sauces and Seasonings are more than enough to flavor the delicious fried Tofu. As such, Pickled Red Chilies are somewhat optional though highly recommended.

This is a homestyle dish as the name implies. This means the cooking method is simple enough to make at home, and more importantly, the dish utilizes plenty of common vegetables. Use a colorful variety of Bell Peppers along with some contrasting Black Wood Ear Mushrooms and this dish is sure to pop at the dinner table. Other than those mentioned below, Scallion and Celery are also great ingredients to stir-fry with the fried Tofu. However, I would advise against using Onion for this dish. Garlic Sprouts, Scallion, and even Chives are far better choices.

Meat is completely optional for this Homestyle Tofu and this dish can be entirely vegan. This is, in fact, how many restaurants serve it. But, as you may have noticed, I prefer to use a combination of sliced Pork Belly and Luncheon Meat in the following recipe. Either or both can be omitted, but together they create a masterpiece of flavor. Chinese Luncheon Meat is a rather mild flavored meat product with a texture similar to a hotdog, though with not as strong of a flavor and far less salt than Spam or other American Luncheon Meat brands. Ham also tastes great for more of a higher end version. This is a homestyle dish, so often the ingredients are meant to be rather cheap. Ham – real ham – is a bit pricy in China especially compared to Luncheon Meat.

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Total Time: 20 min

Serving: 2 people

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried Wood Ear Mushrooms

400 – 500 grams of Firm Tofu

50 grams fatty Pork Belly

50 grams Luncheon Meat OR Ham

1/2 of a Red Bell Pepper (OR 1/4 of a Red Bell Pepper and 1/4 of a Green Bell Pepper)

2 stalks of Garlic Sprouts (蒜苗)

Aromatics and Chilies
3 – 5 Pickled Red Chilies
2 – 4 cloves of Garlic
1 2-inch block of Pickled Ginger

Peanut Oil

1 Tbsp. Sichuan Chili Bean Paste

Sauces and Seasonings
1 Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon Powder
1/2 tsp. White Sugar

1 Tbsp. Corn Starch Slurry

Brightening Oil
1/2 tsp. Scallion Oil (OR Sesame Oil)

Directions

1.) Place the Wood Ear Mushrooms in a bowl, fill the bowl with water, and cover everything with a damp paper towel. Allow the Mushrooms to soak while preparing the other ingredients.

2.) Cut the Tofu into diamonds and set all the pieces in a large bowl:

• Hold the Tofu and knife properly.
• Set the Tofu on a cutting board.
• Place one hand atop the Tofu block with palm pressing firmly down and the fingers curled up.
• Hold the knife in the other hand with the blade horizontal.
• Cut the Tofu into Slices.
• Slice off the top 1-inch of the Tofu block and set the slice off to the side.
• Slice off the next top 1-inch of the Tofu and stack it on the other slice.
• Continue this process until the entire block of Tofu is cut into 1-inch-thick slices.
• Cut the Tofu into diamonds.
• Place one of the slices from the stack onto the cutting board.
• Cut it in half lengthwise if rectangular or simply in half if the slice is square.
• Make three cuts across the Tofu slice at a 45-degree angle, creating a perfect diamond shape with the middle two pieces. (The top and bottom pieces will be somewhat triangular as opposed to diamond-shaped).
• Place the pieces in a bowl and repeat with the other slices.

3.) Place the Pork Belly on a cutting board with the skin-side facing you and slice the meat as thinly as possible. Set the slices in their own bowl.

4.) Cut the Luncheon Meat into a rectangular block. Lay the block on its side and cut it at a 45-degree angle in the same direction at both the front and back of the block. Doing so will remove two triangular pieces and leave be behind a rhombus-shaped block. Flip the triangular pieces onto their base, cut them into thin 1/4-inch-thick slices, and set these triangles into a bowl. Flip the rhombus-shaped block onto its base and cut it into thin 1/4-inch-thick slices, and set these diamonds in the bowl with the triangles.

5.) Cut the Red Bell Pepper into 2-inch-wide strips, lay them with inner-side facing up on a cutting board, and cut across the strips at a 45-degree angle to create diamond-shaped pieces. Set the Pepper in same bowl as the Luncheon Meat.

6.) Once the Wood Ear Mushrooms have finished soaking, cut them into diamond-shaped pieces if they are large and set them in a new bowl.

7.) Smash the Garlic Sprouts flat, cut them into 2-inch-long pieces, and set them in the same bowl as the Mushrooms.

8.) Prepare Aromatics and Chilies, placing everything into the same bowl:

• Cut the Pickled Chilies into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Peel and slice the Garlic.
• Slice the Pickled Ginger.

9.) Fill a seasoned wok at least 1/3 full with Peanut Oil and heat it on medium-high until nearly smoking hot. Add the Tofu pieces and deep-fry them for about 1 – 2 minutes until golden yellow.

(If using an electric or conduction top, fry the Tofu in 4 – 5 batches with each batch cooking for about 1 minute. This will allow the Tofu to develop a crispy surface and prevent the Oil from becoming soupy. The Tofu will not fry in soupy oil, but boil. After each batch is cooked, set the crispy Tofu in a wire strainer to rest while frying the next batch. When all of the batches are cooked, remove everything from the Oil. Add the Bell Pepper and Luncheon Meat, frying them for a few seconds and then add all of the Tofu back to the wok continuing to cook it as in the next step).

10.) Add the pieces of Bell Pepper and Luncheon Meat to the wok, deep-frying them with the Tofu for about 30 seconds until all moisture has evaporated. Pour the contents of the wok into a wire strainer set over a large pot to quickly drain the wok.

11.) Add about 2 Tbsp. of Peanut Oil back to the wok and heat on medium-high until nearly smoking. Add the thinly sliced Pork Belly and stir-fry it until fully cooked and almost crispy.

12.) Add the Aromatics and Chilies along with the Chili Bean Paste and stir-fry everything together, creating a sort of chili oil in the bottom of the wok.

13.) Immediately pour in about 1 to 1.5 cups of water, stir in all of the Sauces and Seasonings (Soy Sauce, Salt, Chicken Bouillon Powder, and Sugar), and bring the sauce to a boil.

14.) Add the Tofu, Bell Pepper, and Luncheon Meat to the sauce, gently stirring until all of the pieces are fully coated.

15.) Next, add the Garlic Sprouts and Wood Ear Mushrooms, gently stirring them into the saucy Tofu.

16.) Drizzle the Corn Starch Slurry around the sauce and mix quickly but gently so that the sauce is smooth and thickly coats everything.

17.) Once the sauce has thickened to the desired level, mix in the Brightening Oil (Scallion Oil or Sesame Oil) and then serve the delicious Homestyle Tofu along with individual bowls of white rice.

 

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