Braised Tofu with Beancurd Stick is a comforting Chinese vegetarian dish made with tofu and beancurd skin braised gently in a savoury sauce. Perfect with steamed rice.
Place fried beancurd stick in a large basin. Add either warm or cold water to soak till it turns white and soft.
Drain the soaked beancurd stick and cut into smaller pieces, about 4cm in length and set aside.
Prepare a large piece of firm and tender tofu. Cut the tofu into thick slices, about 1 cm thick. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Cut shimeiji mushrooms in halves. Then briefly rinsed and drained well.
Then minced garlic and ginger. Cut spring onion into strips and set aside.
Lastly prepare all seasonings to cook the dish.
Make Cornstarch Slurry:
Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Stir to mix well.
Cooking Braised Tofu with Fried Beancurd Stick:
First, heat up enough oil in a pan. When oil is ready, gently put in the tofu piece by piece, in a single layer. Using medium or low heat throughout the whole process, fry the tofu. Do not turn over the tofu immediately. You can shake the pan from time to time. This will allow the tofu to be evenly heated and cooked.
Fry the bottom of tofu till it is slightly golden in colour. Then use a spatula to turn the tofu over and fry the other side in the same way.
Do not fry the tofu for too long. Otherwise it will not taste good. Fry the tofu till it is slightly golden and crispy on both sides, about 5 minutes. Tofu fried will be crispy on the outside and tender inside. Then transfer to a plate and set aside.
Then boil some water in wok. Put in the cut shimeiji mushrooms and blanch it for about 1 minute. Immediately drained and set aside for later use. As these mushrooms grow in dark and humid environment, there will be some odour. Blanching will remove the odour.
Next, heat up oil in wok. Add in chopped garlic and ginger. Using low heat, stir fry slowly till fragrant. Then add in light soy sauce and continue to stir fry over low heat to bring out the flavour.
Then add in the fried tofu. Add an appropriate amount of water. Bring to a boil. Then add in the seasonings (oyster sauce, salt, sugar, ground white pepper, chicken stock granules, dark soy sauce) to enhance the flavour and colour. Use a spatula to gently turn it around to mix in the seasonings. Using medium low heat, simmer the tofu till well seasoned, for 2 minutes.
After simmering for 2 minutes, add in the beancurd stick and the blanched shimeiji mushrooms. Then stir fry to evenly mixed. As beancurd skin and mushrooms absorbs flavours easily, just gently simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Then add in the cornstarch slurry. Immediately use a spatula to gently mixed around. This will enable the cornstarch slurry to be fully absorbed. When the liquid has thickened, add in the spring onion. Continue to stir fry for another minute till the spring onion is cooked. And the dish is ready to be served.
Choose the right tofu. Use firm tofu and avoid soft or silken tofu which will break easily. Cut into thicker pieces to hold shape.
Lightly pan-fry tofu till golden to strengthen structure and improve sauce absorption.
Prepare beancurd skin properly by soaking in water till pliable. Drain well and squeeze gently (do not wring). Cut into manageable lengths and not too long as will be messy when served.
Simmer tofu until fully seasoned using medium or low heat to enable the tofu to fully absorbed the sauce.
Avoid adding too much water for the braising. Just enough for the tofu and beancurd skin to absorb the liquid.
Control the heat by braising on low to medium-low heat. Gently simmer the tofu. High heat will break the tofu and toughen beancurd skin.
Sauce should be glossy and lightly thickened.
Stir gently or swirl the wok instead of constant stirring to prevent tofu and beancurd skin to break.
Add mushroom and beancurd skin at the end to prevent overcooking and to keep colours fresh.