Tofu sheets! If you've never seen them before, these are a sort of hyper firm tofu that should be available at most Chinese supermarkets. If you love tofu and tofu-related stuff, you'll loved them; if you're not crazy about tofu, you'll still love them - promise. It's just a great ingredient through and through. We'll cover three recipes:- Tofu Noodle Salad (凉拌千张)- Red Braised Tofu Sheets (红烧千张)- Vegetarian Fried Duck (素炒鸭子)INGREDIENTS, COLD TOFU NOODLE SALAD - Tofu sheets (千张/豆皮), 200g. Cut into ~1cm strips.- For the sauce: 2 tbsp dark Chinese vinegar (陈醋/香醋), 2 tsp light soy sauce (生抽), 2 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt, optional sprinkle MSG (味精). For the vinegar, ‘Shanxi Mature Vinegar’ is preferable. - Garlic, 3 cloves. Minced. - Cilantro (香菜), 1 sprig. Cut into ~1.5 inch sections.- Dried chilis (干辣椒), ~4. Cut into ~1 cm sections. Basically any sort of dried chili with a bit of kick will do.- Sichuan peppercorn (花椒), ~1/2 tsp.- Oil, preferably Chinese rapeseed oil (菜籽油). Peanut oil would also be good, or barring that neutral is ok.PROCESS, COLD TOFU NOODLE SALAD1. Blanch the tofu strips for about two minutes. [1:13 in the video]2. Combine with the sauce and the cilantro. Place the minced garlic on trop. [1:37 in the video]3. Add the oil together with the chili and Sichuan peppercorn into a cold pan. Heat on medium, fry for ~1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. [1:52]4. Remove the chilis and the peppercorns. Continue to heat the oil until smoking. [2:05]5. Splash the hot oil onto your salad, aiming for the garlic. Mix well. [2:13]For looks, you can add back a couple of the dried chili pieces for decoration.INGREDIENTS, RED BRAISED TOFU SHEETS- Tofu sheets (千张/豆皮), 200g. Cut into ~2 inch strips, then into triangles [2:50]- Eggs, 4.- Aromatics for the braise: 2 cloves garlic, 2 inches ginger (姜). Crush the garlic, cut the ginger into slices.- Spices for the braise: 1 star anise (八角), ½ cinnamon stick (桂皮), 1 dried bay leaf (香叶), 2 cloves (丁香), ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn (花椒). - Liaojiu, a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1/2 tbsp. For use when stir frying.- Hot water, 3 cups.- Seasoning for the braise: 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce (生抽), ½ tbsp dark soy sauce (老抽), ½ tbsp sugar.- To taste: salt, MSG (味精). We added ~1/8 tsp salt and a sprinkle of MSG.- Slurry: 3 tsp cornstarch (生粉), 3 tbsp water. - Scallions. Sliced, for garnish.PROCESS, RED BRAISED TOFU SHEETS1. Hard boil your eggs. Like you always would - add to a pot together with cool water, bring it all to a boil, boil for 7 minutes covered, then remove and peel.2. Blanch the tofu sheets for ~1 minute. [2:56]3. Fry the boiled eggs over medium-high heat for ~10 minutes, or until wrinkly and golden brown [3:09].4. Stir fry. Add the aromatics, fry for ~30 seconds until fragrant. Add the spices, fry for ~30 seconds until fragrant. Swirl in the wine, give a quick mix. [3:40]5. Add in the water, the seasoning for the braise, and the tofu sheets. If you were stir frying in a wok, transfer over to a pot for braising [4:06]6. Bring to a boil over high flame, then swap your flame to medium. Cover with the lid ajar to allow for reduction. Boil for 25 minutes [4:25]7. Uncover, swap the flame to high to reduce a bit more. Season with salt & MSG to taste. [4:33]8. Add the slurry bit by bit. Depending on how much everything reduced during cooking, you will likely need a little more or a little less. We used the full amount call for. [4:43]Out, garnish with scallion.INGREDIENTS, VEGETARIAN STIR FRIED DUCK- Tofu sheets (千张/豆皮), 150g. Cut into 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles.- Blanching liquid: 1 liter water, 2 tsp baking soda (苏打粉).- Sauce for frying: 1 tbsp light soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ½ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt, 5 tbsp water.- Scallion (葱). Divided into the white part (sliced) and the green part (~1 inch sections).- Slurry: 2 tsp cornstarch (生粉), 2 tbsp water.PROCESS, VEGETARIAN STIR FRIED DUCK1. Blanch the tofu sheets in the baking soda-water for 3-4 minutes, or until the water is yellowish & foamy, and the tofu sheets turn whiter. [5:48]2. Immediately remove, strain, then dunk in cool water to stop the cooking. [6:08]3. Stir fry the scallion over high for ~1 minute, then add in the sauce [6:47]. 4. Bring to a rapid boil, add tofu sheets. Gently stir for ~1-2 minutes, or til sauce is reduced by ~half. [7:10]5. Thicken with the slurry bit by bit. For the video, we used about half of the slurry. [7:19]6. Add in the scallion greens. Quick mix, out.Big thank you to the Xigua user “醉美皖西大别山” for that picture of Tofu sheet making. You can check out the whole process here: https://www.ixigua.com/6754339486907236867And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystifiedOutro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพFound via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg
