Ma Po Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

From Rasamalaysia.com

Ingredients

1 block silken tofu (19 oz box)
1/4 lb ground pork
3 tablespoons Sichuan spicy bean paste (辣豆瓣酱)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons chili oil
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (roasted and ground to powder)
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fermented black beans (rinsed and pounded)
2 stalks of leeks or scallions (chopped into 1 or 2-inch length)
2 gloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cut the tofu into small pieces, drain the water from the tofu and set aside. Heat up a wok and pour in the cooking oil and chili oil. Add the chopped garlic, ground pork, spicy bean paste and stir-fry until the pork is half-done. Then add in chili powder, soy sauce, fermented black beans and stir-fry until aromatic. Add in the tofu and water; stir gently to blend the tofu (don’t break them) well with the sauce. Lower the heat and simmer for about 3-5 mins or until the sauce thickens. Add in the roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder and chopped scallions. Gently stir and blend well. Dish out and serve hot.

I must confess I made quite a bit of modifications to this recipe. I used minced beef instead of pork, I didn’t have any scallions so I used flat leaf parsley instead (left over from the spanish fish soup). I didn’t have any Sichuan peppercorn powder (I didn’t want to buy a bottle of it from Waitrose and not use it for months and even years). Oh, and I added mushrooms and peas (left over from the braised peas and onion to make it a more balanced meal. So the final product is probably not that authentic but it suits my craving for a decent chinese meal rather than just the normal stir fries I cook every week.

Vegetarian dumplings

Inspired by vegetarian Tibetan Momos, I made some dumplings with tofu, chives and dried mushrooms.

Jeff wanted some soup as it was cold and rainy today..so we poured some miso soup over the dumplings.

Heartwarming!

Ingredients
1) a block of tofu (well it actually depends on how big your block is right? sighs, just estimate – this recipe is all about estimation. I actually use half a block of trader joe’s tofu
2) 10 dried mushrooms (soaked overnight in water, chopped finely)
3) a bunch of chives (chopped finely)
4) sesame oil
5) finely ground white pepper
6) soy sauce (generous dose, because tofu is quite tasteless)
7) 1 egg
8) black vinegar for dipping
9) wanton skins (I was sad when there was more filling than skins)

Steps:
1) mix tofu, mushrooms, chives together – mash the tofu till ground-up. You can do that with a fork
2) add sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce and egg, mix thoroughly
3) wrap tightly in wanton skins.
4) In the meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and a little oil.
5) When water boils, add the dumplings.
6) They are cooked when they float to the top.
7) Serve with vinegar as dipping sauce, or pour your choice of hot, clear soup over it. (We did it with Miso, which tasted really good, I reckon chicken broth would be nice too.)

Kim-chi-jji-kae

 

Ingredients:

Pork 100g thinly sliced
Ginger juice 1 tsp
Light soy sauce 2 tsp
Ground black pepper 1 tsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Kimchi brine 250ml
Kimchi 200g
Water 1 1/2 cups
Soft bean curd sliced
Leek slices

Season pork with ginger juice, soy sauce, black pepper, sugar and kimchi brine for 20 minutes

Place seasoned pork with kimchi in a pot. Add water and bring to the boil

Reduce heat and add bean curd. Simmer for 20 minutes

Garnish with leek slices and serve hot

I live near a Korean restaurant in London and it has really opened my eyes to Korean cuisine. Previously, my understanding of Korean food was limited to Seoul Garden and Korean bbq. I realise now that kimchi is the basis of their cooking, and not just as a side dish. I bought a Korean cookbook from Kino and there are a number of dishes in that book that I have tried at that Korean restaurant. And so the experimenting begins.

Note: don’t add too much water…

Spicy soft bean curd stew (Sun-du-bu-jji-kae)

Ingredients 

Red chili oil 1 tbsp
Crushed garlic 1 tbsp
Chili powder 1 tbsp
Light soy sauce 1 tsp
Beef seasoning powder 1/2 tbsp
1 onion peeled and diced
Kimchi
Pork 50 g sliced
Water 1 cup
Silken or egg bean curb 1 tube, sliced into rounds
Egg 1
Spring onion sliced

Heat pot until it becomes very hot. Reduce heat and add chili oil, crushed garlic, chili powder, soy sauce, beef seasoning powder, onion, kimchi and pork. Stir fry for 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to the boil. Carefully slide in bean curd rounds without breaking them. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Crack egg into stew and remove from heat. Sprinkle spring onion on top and serve.