Home-style Tofu

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Chinese name: 家常豆腐 (jiā cháng dòu fǔ)  Style: Sichuan (Szechuan) Cuisine  Characteristics: it is red-gold in color and should be soft in texture. In this recipe it should taste salty, fresh and a little bit hot and sweet.  The 'home-style sauce' is typical of Sichuan Cuisine, and is made by combining bean paste with chili, salt and sauce, which from the staples of many people's meals in Sichuan. A common accompaniment to this dish is rice, as it is nutritious but simple to cook. As you are making the sauce yourself, you can alter the quantities according to your own taste.

 

Ingredients: 100 g lean pork (or beef);  250 g firm(hard) tofu; 1 green pepper; 1 red chili pepper

Seasonings: salt  cornstarch  white sugar  cooking wine  soy sauce  broad bean paste  Note: the amount of the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.

Preparation: 1. Clean the pork and cut into slices, about 2-3 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. Put it into a dish. 2. Clean the firm tofu and cut into triangular or diamond-shaped chunks. Put it into a dish.  3. Remove and discard the seeds from the peppers, then clean with water. Cut into chunks and put into a dish.

Methods:

Step 1: Pour the soy sauce and corn starch over the pork (cooking wine, salt, chicken essence could also be added in to get rid of the fishy smell of the meat). Stir well it with chopsticks until all the meat pieces are fully coated.

 

Step 2: Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add some cooking oil, and add the tofu chunks one by one with chopsticks once the oil is sizzling. Fry over a low heat until both sides turn yellow. Turn off the heat and place them into a colander on a small basin to drain the oil.

Step 3: Turn on the heat, and add some cooking oil again until hot, swirling to coat all sides. Add in the broad bean paste and stir-fry for 20 seconds until fragrant. Add the marinated pork, soy sauce and cooking wine. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes until the pork is 80% cooked and turns yellowish.

 

Step 4: Add the fried tofu slices and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the chili pepper chunks, and stir-fry for a furthur 1 minute. Add some salt and white sugar. Stir-fry for 30 seconds more.

 

Step 5: Finally, home-style tofu completes. Turn off the heat, remove them out of the wok and put them in a prepared fine porcelain plate.

A plate of typical home-style tofu is ready, with a beautiful color and alluring fragrance.

source:http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/food/chinese-cooking/home-style-tofu.htm