Starting a thread on the different types of tofu and how to cook them. (Some of these are vegan, some are not. In Chinese cooking, tofu is not a vegan protein):
Egg tofu
This is one of my fave tofus. It isn't vegan. It's made with soy beans AND eggs. It has a eggy taste that egg lovers will love; but that goes way entirely when it's panfried lightly.
Following my tofu posts from earlier: I read everything Hannah Che writes. She’s writing about plant based food culture in China. Based in Yunnan now. Her tofu post is exceptional as always
Something I love telling people is that the Mandarin euphemism for ‘being horny’ is ‘I ate your tofu / I want to eat your tofu / they ate my tofu’. I feel like we should popularize that in pop culture. Like, you hear that in TV shows (mainly Taiwanese but also sometimes mainland Chinese)
INGREDIENTS
🌱450g/16oz firm tofu, pressed
🌱1 medium leek
🌱1 green onion
🌱1/2 red chilli pepper, optional
🌱Cooking oil
🌱Salt to prevent tofu from sticking to the wok
➡️ For the sauce
🌱1 Tbsp vegan fysh sauce
🌱1 Tbsp tamari sauce
🌱1/2 tsp maple syrup
🌱1 Tbsp arrowroot/tapioca powder
🌱3/4 cup of water
METHOD
Chop the leek and finely slice the green onion and chilli, if using. Place the leek and white part of the green onion in a bowl.
Heat a large wok over medium heat and add 2 heaping tablespoons of oil (use less for non-stick pan). Slowly slide in the tofu. Use a spatula or spoon and cut up tofu into chunks (or roughly pre-cut the tofu if using a non-stick pan). Pan fry each side until slightly golden. Tip – only flip the tofu once a crust is formed.
Meanwhile, in the bowl with the chopped leek and white part of the green onion, mix in the vegan fysh sauce, tamari sauce, maple syrup, and arrowroot powder with water until well combined.
When tofu is done, add the sauce, and gently toss to combine. Let it simmer for about 30 seconds until flavours meld, with a few tosses in between to prevent tofu from sticking. Taste test and adjust saltiness with more tamari sauce if needed or additional water for a saucier dish.
Garnish with the green parts of the onion and chopped chilli and give it a final toss.
If you don’t eat meat just omit the meat, or replace any instance of ground pork (commonly used to cook tofu in Chinese cooking), with minced mushrooms
A quick shout out to Omsom instant noodles. I’ve been really liking their products, particularly the Soy Garlic flavor, and they are easy to prepare. For this dish I stir fried some red pepper and sugar snap peas, and cooked some tofu in the oven. https://omsom.com#vegitarian#tofu#omsom
I follow Hannah Che, who writes beautifully about life and food in parts of China I want to hear more about. Harbin. Kunming.
In this dispatch from Kunming she writes of tofu.
“I’ve been researching the alkaline treatment of tofu— traditional methods found in Yunnan and Guizhou [..] Similar to nixtamalization in masa, this change in pH tenderizes the soy proteins and results in unusual textures like molten lava, custard and exploding juice interiors”
My wife and I tag teamed on this. She made some tofu and rice. Then I made some homemade teriyaki sauce, and stir fried it over some broccoli, peanuts, and the tofu. It was absolutely scrumptious.
"Le soja se couche à Drancy" reportage de 1968, 11 min.
"A Drancy, dans la cave de son pavillon, Monsieur TCHANG fait pousser du soja hors terre et fournit ainsi de nombreux restaurants chinois de Paris. Il nous explique sa technique mais, concurrence oblige, garde secrète la fabrication du fromage de soja. Son interview est complétée de témoignages de commerçants et restaurateurs"