Hey folks,
It’s Kevin here today.
This Szechuan vegetables and tofu is a recipe that I wanted to share with you for a while.
So I thought I would take the opportunity for the first time today to actually walk
you through the steps.
It’s an easy recipe and, best of all, it’s cooked in just one pan.
This dish is not overly hot and is in fact well balanced with every thinkable flavour
and texture mingled in one dish.
I hope you’ll like it.
So, let’s get started.
First place the shiitake and the woodear mushrooms in a small bowl.
Cover with hot water and let soak while we prepare the other ingredients.
Cut the tofu into cubes of about 1.5 cm or 1/2 inch.
We are using firm tofu for this dish.
If you wish to make this dish soy-free, skip the tofu or replace with meaty mushrooms like
portobello.
Peel the carrot if you wish then slice it into thin half moons.
As usual, you’ll find the list of ingredients and the printable recipe on our website.
Check the description below the video for the link.
Slice the courgette or zucchini into rather thin half moons too.
Remove the stem and seeds of the yellow bell pepper.
Then cut it into cubes of about 2 to 3 cm or an inch.
You can also use red or green bell peppers depending on your preference.
For the spring onions or scallions, chop the white part and keep it separate.
Then finely chop the green part.
Cut the tomato into large chunks.
Place the tomatoes into a blender or use a hand blender to process them to a puree.
You can also use canned tomato puree if you prefer.
Set the tomato puree aside for now.
By now the woodear mushrooms should be rehydrated.
Cut them into small pieces.
You can find both shiitake and woodear mushrooms at an Asian grocery store.
If you’ve watched one of our previous Asian grocery hauls, you would probably remember
these.
Else you can also buy them online.
Leave the shiitake to continue soaking in the water.
We will use this water later in the sauce.
I am using about 4 cloves in this recipe.
Many Szechuan dishes call for Sichuan peppercorns.
If you can find it, substitute the cloves for the Sichuan peppercorns.
In this case, check the printable recipe on our website for the correct measurements.
Pound or grind the cloves.
A manual spice grinder is quite handy for this as it can grind a small amount of spice.
We’ll leave a link below the video where you can find the one that we are using.
Now that we have everything prepared, let’s start making the dish.
In a wok or sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium temperature.
Add the ground cloves (or Sichuan peppercorns), roast for about 10 seconds.
Then add the star anise and the dried red chilli.
Roast for about 20 more seconds.
This will flavour the oil and is crucial to give this dish its unique aroma and taste.
Next add the ginger-garlic paste followed by the white part of the spring onions.
Stir fry for another minute.
Add the chilli paste.
I am using sambal oelek, you can use any other chilli paste or chilli bean paste like gochujang.
Add in the tofu pieces.
Stir fry until tofu is slightly crispy on all sides.
This should take about 10 minutes.
Add a little of the shiitake water if the tofu is sticking to the pan.
Next add the carrots first, as they will take a little longer to cook than the other vegetables.
Add a little of the shiitake water and stir fry for about 3 minutes.
At this stage, you can add the tomato puree and sauté for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Next add the courgette and bell peppers.
Stir fry for another minute.
Some Chinese cooking rice wine really adds that distinct oomph to the dish with a pleasant
nutty undertone.
You’ll find it at any Asian grocery store or also online.
Or else you can replace it with a dry Sherry or just leave it out.
Now add a touch of balsamic vinegar and the sugar.
Dilute the potato starch in the rest of the shiitake water.
Add this mixture to the pan and stir immediately.
The sauce will thicken quickly.
Add more water if required to make more sauce.
Add the soy sauce, about 3 – 5 tablespoons to taste and for colour.
Now add the woodear mushrooms and the bean sprouts.
You can add the mushrooms earlier if you wish.
But we like them a little crunchy so we prefer to add them towards the end.
And by the way, we also added in some red bell peppers for colour.
The soy sauce and chilli paste that we’ve used already have enough salt for our taste.
So, adjust the salt if necessary to your taste (or use more soy sauce).
Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with the remaining green spring onions.
This dish is really quite easy to make and it is very tasty, just like I remember it
from the restaurants where we’ve had this before.
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recipe on the blog.
Don’t forget to check our website for the printable recipe.
We’ve included some tips for gluten-free and soy-free options.
Until next time, have a great week.
Bye.