红烧豆腐 (Braised Tofu)

I was tired and not very on the ball for dinner last night, so I turned to the "Quick & Easy" category on the Woks of Life blog. We had a block of tofu in the freezer and a bunch of veggies in the fridge, so I decided to give a modified version of this braised tofu a try. I think it would've been better with the snow peas and bamboo shoots that the original recipe called for, but I had to roll with what I had available. I ended up using some frozen broccoli, peas, and corn to make up for the missing snow peas and bamboo shoots. The recipe below reflects the original vegetable combination, but there is some wiggle room.

红烧豆腐

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the cornstarch with the water and set it aside.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine the stock, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauces, wine, and sugar and set it aside.
3. Heat wok over medium-high heat.
4. Drizzle in the oil.
5. Add the tofu in a single layer and cook for ~1 minute.
6. Flip the tofu and cook for another minute or so.
7. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
8. Add the mushrooms and the stock mixutre and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
10. Add snow peas, carrot, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots and cook for ~1 minute.
11. Whisk the corn starch mixture to make sure it's well-combined and drizzle it into the wok.
12. Cook until sauce thickens.
13. Serve over rice.

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Variations

Vegetarian/Vegan Version

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. raw sugar or agave syrup
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced