THE EVERYTHING® STIR-FRY COOKBOOK
Page 32
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger slices. Let brown for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the pan.
Add the tofu to the wok or skillet. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes or until the scrambled tofu is fluffy but has not browned. Serve immediately.
Vegan Tofu and Tomato Scramble
Tomato and shallots add extra flavor to this hearty breakfast dish. Serve with toast and garnish with fresh tomato slices.
Place the tofu cubes in a bowl. Use your fingers to break up the tofu until it has the texture of scrambled egg. Stir or use your fingers to mix in the salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, turmeric, nutritional yeast, and green onion.
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger slices. Let brown for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the pan.
Add the shallots to the wok or skillet. Stir-fry until they begin to soften, then add the tomatoes. Stir-fry the tomatoes for a minute, sprinkling with ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Add the tofu to the wok or skillet. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then stir in the soymilk. Stir-fry for about 1 to 2 more minutes, until the scrambled tofu is light and fluffy. Serve immediately.
Sweet and Sour Tempeh
This is a great dish for the summer months when bell peppers and vine-ripened tomatoes are in season.
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the minced ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the tempeh cubes. Stir-fry the tempeh about 4 minutes, until it is browned.
Push the tempeh to the sides of the pan, and add the green bell pepper in the middle. Stir-fry for a minute, splashing the pepper with the soy sauce. Add the tomato and stir-fry for 1 minute, sprinkling with the black pepper.
Stir the Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce and pour over the tempeh. Bring to a boil. Stir-fry for a minute, mixing the tempeh into the sauce. Serve hot.
Tempeh or Tofu? While both tempeh and tofu are made from soybeans, in the case of tempeh, the soybeans are fermented with a mold for several hours, giving it a nuttier flavor and much firmer texture. Extra flavor makes tempeh a good choice for persons who find tofu tastes too bland, while a firmer texture means it can be stirred and tossed more during stir-frying.
Serves 3 to 4
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound tempeh, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tomato, halved and cut into wedges
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce (page 25)
Serves 2
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water, divided
1½ tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
¼ teaspoon chile paste, or to taste
½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 block pressed tofu (about 3½ ounces), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 green onion, quartered
1 cup cooked white or brown rice
Mongolian Tofu for Two
Tofu takes the place of marinated flank steak in this variation on Mongolian beef, a popular dish from northern China. This recipe is designed to make extra sauce for mixing in with the rice.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons water, hoisin sauce, rice wine or sherry, and the chile paste. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch into 1 teaspoon water.
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the tofu and the green onion. Stir-fry the tofu for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is browned.
Stir the sauce and pour it in the middle of the wok or skillet. Bring to a boil. Stir-fry for a minute, mixing the tofu in with the sauce.
Push the tofu to the sides of the pan. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture and add it into the middle of the sauce, stirring to thicken. When the sauce has thickened, stir briefly to mix everything together. Serve hot over the cooked rice.
Tangy Hoisin Sauce Sweet and spicy hoisin sauce is the secret ingredient in many northern Chinese dishes, including mu shu pork (see Restaurant-Style Mu Shu Pork, page 184). Like other types of Chinese bean sauces, hoisin sauce is made with soybeans. In this case, the fermented soybeans are made into a paste and seasoned with garlic, vinegar, sugar, and frequently chilies.
Mongolian Tofu with Noodles
This recipe is very adaptable — feel free to add bamboo shoots or baby corn and to replace the tofu with beef or pork.
Fill a bowl with enough boiling water to cover the noodles. Soak the noodles in the hot water for about 20 minutes or until they are softened. Drain thoroughly. Cut the noodles crosswise into three sections.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the water, hoisin sauce, rice wine or sherry, and the chile paste.
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the carrots and ginger. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the green pepper. Stir-fry for 1 more minute or until the carrots have turned a darker orange and the vegetables are crisp but still tender.
Add the tofu to the wok or skillet. Stir-fry the tofu for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring and moving it around the pan, until it begins to firm up and turn brown. Splash 1 tablespoon of soy sauce over the tofu while stir-frying. Add the rice noodles, stirring to mix them in with the tofu.
Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes to mix the sauce in with the tofu and noodles. Serve hot.
How Tofu Is Made For centuries, tofu has been made through a complex process that has a lot in common with making cheese. After soaking, soybeans are ground and combined with water to make soymilk. A coagulant is added, which curdles the soymilk, producing the soybean curd that is called tofu.
Serves 2 to 3
4 ounces dried rice vermicelli
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
½ teaspoon chile paste, or to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1½ carrots, cut into ½-inch slices
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 blocks pressed tofu (about 7 ounces), drained and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Serves 2 to 4
¼ pound flank or sirloin steak, cut across the grain into thin strips
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
1¾ teaspoons cornstarch, divided
½ cup plus
1 tablespoon water, divided
1½ tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon chile paste, or to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, divided
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced ginger
½ pound firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 green onions, finely chopped
Tofu with Beef
You can use this sauce whenever you're preparing a beef stir-fry. Serve this dish with basic stir-fried noodles (page 200) for a complete meal.
Place the beef strips in a bowl and add the light soy sauce, black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon cornstarch. Marinate the beef for 15 minutes.
Combine ½ cup water, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, granulated sugar, and chile paste in a bowl. In a sepa
rate bowl, dissolve 1½ teaspoons cornstarch into 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it is nearly smoking. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add half the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the beef. Let sear briefly, then stir-fry the beef until it is no longer pink and is nearly cooked through.
Push the beef to the sides of the pan. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the middle. Add the remainder of the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the tofu cubes. Stir-fry the tofu cubes for 1 to 2 minutes, until they begin to brown.
Push the tofu to the sides and add the sauce in the middle. Bring to a boil. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture and add to the sauce, stirring to thicken. Stir in the green onions. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 more minutes to mix together all the ingredients. Serve hot.
Pairing Tofu with Meat Don't feel you need to limit your use of tofu to vegetarian dishes. In Asia, tofu is frequently paired with meat to provide an interesting contrast in texture. A well-known dish combining the two is Grandmother Bean Curd, or Mapo Doufu (page 189), where tofu and ground pork are stir-fried with fermented black beans, chile paste, and other spicy seasonings.
Appendix A: Glossary of Basic Cooking Terms Used in Stir-Frying
Al dente
An Italian term literally meaning “to the teeth.” Al dente is used to describe the state to which pasta should be cooked. Pasta that is cooked al dente has no taste of flour remaining, but there is still a slight resistance when bitten and it is still slightly chewy. Like Italian pasta, Chinese egg noodles should be cooked al dente.
Aromatics
In stir-frying, garlic and ginger are frequently added to the hot oil before the other ingredients, in order to flavor the oil.
Blanch
Blanching is a means of cooking food by immersing it in boiling water. In Chinese cooking, thicker, denser vegetables such as broccoli are often briefly blanched prior to being added to a stir-fry. This helps ensure that all the vegetables in the stir-fry finish cooking at the same time. After blanching, the cooked food is immediately placed in cold water to stop the cooking process. Always drain blanched foods thoroughly before adding to a stir-fry.
Chop
Chopping consists of cutting food into small pieces. While chopped food doesn't need to be perfectly uniform, the pieces should be roughly the same size.
Deep-fry
Deep-frying is a means of cooking food by immersing it briefly in hot oil. Along with stir-frying and steaming, deep-frying is one of the three main Chinese cooking techniques. In Chinese cuisine, some recipes call for food to be deep-fried first before it is added to the other ingredients in a stir-fry.
Deglaze
Deglazing the pan consists of using liquid to clean out the browned bits of drippings left over from cooking meat in a pan. Adding liquid (usually broth or alcohol) to the pan makes it easier to lift up the browned bits with a spatula. The flavored liquid is then used in a sauce or gravy. While deglazing the pan isn't a standard Chinese technique, it can be used in stir-fry recipes such as Speedy Beef Stew (page 92) and Pork Chops with Burgundy Mushrooms (page 162).
Dice
Dicing consists of cutting food into small cubes, usually ¼-inch in size or less. Unlike chopping, the food should be cut into even-sized pieces.
Drain
Draining consists of drawing off the liquid from a food. In stir-frying, washed vegetables are drained thoroughly before stir-frying so that excess water is not added to the pan, while meat is drained after stir-frying to remove any excess oil. Either a colander (a perforated bowl made of metal or plastic) or paper towels can be used to drain food.
Dredge
Dredging consists of coating food with a dry ingredient such as flour, bread crumbs, or potato starch before frying. Spices are frequently added to the coating for extra flavor. Dredging food before frying gives it a nice, crispy coating.
Julienne
To julienne food (also called matchstick cutting) consists of cutting it into very thin strips about 1½ to 2 inches long, with a width and thickness of about inch. Both meat and vegetables can be julienned.
Marinate
Marinating food consists of coating it in a liquid prior to cooking. Stir-fry recipes with meat, seafood, and poultry nearly always include a marinade, both to tenderize the food and lend extra flavor. Cornstarch is frequently added to help seal in the other ingredients — always add the cornstarch last unless the recipe states otherwise.
Matchstick Head
To prepare matchstick heads, julienne the food and then cut it crosswise into small cubes the approximate size of matchstick heads.
Mince
Mincing consists of cutting food into very small pieces. In general, minced food is cut into smaller pieces than chopped food.
Sauce
A sauce is a liquid that is added to lend flavor to a dish. In stir-fries, a sauce is frequently added in the final stages of cooking.
Sear
Searing meat consists of quickly browning it over high heat before finishing cooking it by another method. Searing meat browns the surface and seals in the juices. In stir-fry dishes, the meat is briefly seared after it is added to the pan, and then finished by stir-frying.
Shred
Shredding food consists of cutting it into thin strips that are usually thicker than a julienne cut. Meat, poultry, cabbage, lettuce, and cheese can all be shredded.
Simmer
Simmering food consists of cooking it in liquid at a temperature just below the boiling point.
Stir-fry
Stir-frying consists of cooking food by placing it in a small amount of heated oil and moving it around quickly at high heat. The main difference between sautéing and stir-frying is that food for stir-fries is cut up into uniform pieces to make it cook more quickly.
Appendix B: Online Shopping Resources
Pacific Rim Gourmet
www.pacificrimgourmet.com
Launched in 1998, Pacific Rim Gourmet specializes in providing harder-to-find ingredients used in Asian cooking. They carry a full range of woks and wok accessories, from carbon steel and cast iron woks to wok covers, rings, tempura racks, and bamboo wok brushes for cleaning your wok. Pacific Rim Gourmet also carries an extensive selection of Asian cooking ingredients, including sauces, marinades, noodles, exotic rices and flours, and batter mixes.
Oriental Pantry
www.orientalpantry.com
Based in the United States, Oriental Pantry has an excellent supply of ingredients commonly used in stir-frying, from sauces to beans, noodles, and vegetables. They carry a number of prepackaged mixes for popular Asian specialties such as hot and sour soup and Philippine adobo sauce for those nights when you're really in a hurry.
Wing Yip
www.wingyip.com
Based in the United Kingdom, Wing Yip has recently launched an online shopping site to accompany its stores located throughout Britain. They carry a wide variety of ingredients used in stir-frying, including their own line of products. Although they carry a few specialty items such as shiitake mushrooms and sushi ginger, the focus is primarily on Chinese cuisine.
Earthy Delights
www.earthy.com
Based in Michigan, Earthy Delights specializes in supplying specialty foods, from mushrooms and gourmet cheeses to fine oils. They supply a wide range of sauces and seasonings used in Asian stir-fries, from soy sauce to sesame seeds and dried chili peppers.
The Wok Shop
www.wokshop.com
Located in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown district, this family-run business has been in operation for over thirty-five years. Their store is an invaluable resource for anyone who doesn't have easy access to an Asian market. In addition to their line of carbon steel woks, cleavers, and other basic equipment, they carry a number of harder-to-find utensils such as tempura racks, Chinese spatulas, and wire mesh skimmers.
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