Hello Everyone, I am Amanda
It seems that our lives are going back to normal slowly
Food is more readily available
But supply is still insufficient for two common ingredients
And they are Tofu and pork
I stock up whenever I see them
Although they are both the most common ingredients
But they are also extremely versatile
I will make three dishes using tofu and pork belly today
Fresh Tofu goes bad easily
If cannot be eaten in a few days
you can opt for making deep-fried tofu
Firm tofu is more suitable for deep-frying
Cut into small cubes
heat up a small pot of oil
Put the tofu cubes in when the oil temp is 160 C°
Don't put in too many of them at once
separate them gently to prevent sticking
Fry them over medium heat till they are golden brown
They will float to the top due to water content loss
Fish them out and drain
If you want to preserve them for a long time
you could put them in Ziploc bags and freeze them
You can also make frozen tofu ( to preserve)
Firm and soft tofu are both ok for this option
Cut into cubes just like before
Add salt to a pot of boiling water
Until it obviously tastes salty
put in the tofu and cook for one minute
then drain them
place them flatly in a plate or a Ziploc bag
Freeze them for at least 4 hours or overnight
they have a yellow tint after being frozen
and they can be preserved for a long time
Don't worry, they will turn back to white after you defrost them
Now we will make the first simply home-cook dish: Mapo Tofu (using fresh tofu)
I've got 2 pieces of pork belly here
There is a thick layer of fat under the skin
cut it off and remove the skin
keep the fat and we will use it later
what's left is the marbled part
you can cut it randomly
because we will ground it now
cut fresh tofu into cubes
dice green onion
heat up the pan and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
Add some Sichuan peppercorn
stir-fry over low heat until fragrant
drain it for later use
Then add in the ground pork
Stir-fry over medium heat until it's golden brown and oil comes out
You can use ground beef alternatively
Add in some ground garlic and stir until fragrant
Push the ground pork to the sides
to leave an empty spot in the middle
And add Pixian County Bean Paste
Add some chili pepper powder if you like spicy
Stir fry until the oil turns red
It's optional but you can add some Jiuniang to enhance the flavors
Add in some rice wine
Add a little bit of water and boil
Add in the tofu and cook for 8-10 mins
Be gentle and don't break the tofu
You can ground the peppercorn from earlier when the tofu is cooking
Make starch water with 2 tsp of corn starch and 3 tbsp of water
Add in the starch water to thicken the sauce
After plating, garnish with diced green onion
Ground Sichuan Peppercorn
Heat up a ladle-full of vegetable oil
Pour it on top with a loud zizzle
Remember to make extra rice when you are making this dish
I can down so much rice with this tender tofu covered in a sauce so fragrant, numbing, and spicy
Everyone, please adjust the level of spiciness according to your taste
Otherwise you might be sweating a lot
Now let's make a more bland dish: fried tofu and cabbage stew
Dice some ham
Or if you have some cured pork leftover from the spring festival, use that.
Soak dried shrimp in water
Baby chinese cabbage cut into pieces
We can now use the fat from earlier
Cut into small pieces
Heat up the pan, then fry it over low heat
Until it becomes pork grinds
A lot of oil will come out from this process
You can take out half of it and use it as lard for cooking
leave everything else in the pot
sliced ginger
diced ham
Dried shrimp
Stir-fry until fragrant
Add in rice cooking wine
Add a large bowl of boiling water
Add in the fried tofu
Continue cooking it for another 5 minutes after the soup boils
Add a little bit of salt
Not too much because the ham is salty already
Add in the baby cabbage and cook until tender
Sprinkle some ground white pepper on top before plating
Even though I used the fat in this dish,
it tastes very light and delicate, not heavy at all
Looking at the bubbling pot
I feel very satisfied while eating it.
The last one is frozen tofu
(Spicy Frozen Tofu Stew)
We will also use pork belly here
Put it in whole into cold water
Cook it for about 15 min after the water boils
Remove from water and drain
Defrost the frozen tofu
Sliced the pork belly
The process is similar to the Twice-cooked pork
Heat up the pan then add some oil
Add in the pork belly and stir fry it
Then add some whole garlics
Fry until the pork is golden and a lot of oil comes out
The garlic should be golden and wrinkly
I don't want the garlic to become mushy
So I will pick them out for now
Move the pork to the edges
Leaving an empty spot for fermented soybean paste
stir-fry until fragant
you can also use chili bean paste or Korean chili paste
Or any other flavor of sauce
Add in dry chili pepper
Rice cooking wine
I just washed the tofu after defrosting them
They are not completely defrosted
It's not a big deal, just add it in there
Add water to covers all the tofu
Boil them over medium heat for about 10 minutes
While I wait, I peeled the carrot and sliced it
I also sliced some fresh chilis
smashed the white part of the green onions
cut them in big pieces, as well as the green part
Add in the carrot and the green onion white first until they become soft
Put the garlic from earlier back
Then add in the green onion leaves and the sliced chilis
Stir it around
Stir in some sesame oil, and you are done
This spicy frozen tofu stew is not as spicy and numbing as Mapo tofu
It's very fragrant with a slight kick, very appetizing and smooth
Frozen tofu can absorbs a lot of sauce
So it is more flavorful compared to fresh tofu
You can create a variety of dishes just from one grocery shopping
I hope it motivates you to cook
Please try this at home when you have time
I hope you like it
Lastly, please like and subscribe, I will see you next time!