Braised Tofu in Vegetable Stock and Sansho Powder

The most common braised tofu dish I would say is soy sauce based. Like darker brown color with heavier aromatics from the seared garlics, scallion, and usually red chilies. Today I'm cooking up a different version, slightly leaning towards Japanese style. Somewhat more elegant with gentle flavors from the vegetable stock and aroma from the distinct sansho powder (山椒).

Braised tofu in Vegetable stock and sansho powder - 

Ingredients?

• 1 box/400 grams semi-firm tofu
• 1 box/220 grams ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 1 stalk scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons Japanese tsuyu
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sake or rice cooking wine 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
• Some olive oil
• Some potato starch and water mixture
• Some sansho powder

How?

Destem and chop the scallion, separate the white and green parts. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Drain out the liquid from the tofu box. Hand-tear the tofu into irregular medium size chunks.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Just a wee bit of oil will do. Switch to medium heat and wait till the surface gets hot. Add in torn tofu and slowly sear till slightly golden. Carefully flip to the other side and sear till colored too.

The searing part will take a while and we don't want to rush this process. However, it should take no longer than 10 minutes, so be more patience there. Once all nice and colored, scoop out for later use.

Meanwhile transfer the ground pork to a bowl and add in chopped scallion whites and chopped garlic. Also add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sake or rice cooking wine. Mix till evenly blended. It's like a quick marinate, remember to let the pork mixture sit under room temperature for about 10 minutes before cooking.

So back to the pan we used earlier for the tofu, check and see if more oil is needed once the tofu has been removed. Pour in 1 more tablespoon of oil max. Add in ground pork mixture and stir-fry till about 70% cooked-through.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper powder, 2 tablespoons of Japanese tsuyu, and 300ml of vegetable stock. It should be a bit watery here, probably more liquid than you would expect normally in a braised tofu recipe.

Transfer seared tofu back and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to keep everything at a medium boiling stage for couple more minutes.

Now change to low heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon of sansho powder and mix. Prepare some potato starch and water mixture in a small bowl. Pour that mixture to the pan while giving the whole thing a gentle push or swirls to prevent lumping. 

Turn-off the heat and wait a short moment. While waiting, break two eggs in a bowl and beat them. Pour the beaten egg to the pan and use a spatula to push the mixture outward gently a few times. 

Do not over-mix it, otherwise the beaten egg can appear cloudy on top. But even like that, it won't really affect the final taste by much though, so don't get too stressed if the look wasn't up to expectation. 

Transfer the tofu dish to a final serving plate or bowl. Sprinkle some more sansho powder on top and garnish with some of the chopped scallion greens.

It has to be sansho powder and cannot be substitute with black or white pepper powder. It's the unique lemony and bright citrusy aroma that gives this tofu recipe a unique edge. 

However, I suppose Taiwanese "magao" pepper will also do the trick. Magao pepper is also lemony and citrusy, but slight stronger than the sansho pepper, so use less if swapping the sansho to magao pepper.  

Other tofu recipes:

• Egg dipped tofu in savory tomato sauce
• Steamed tofu and egg with ground pork toppings 肉末豆腐蒸蛋
• Tomato egg and tofu soup 番茄雞蛋豆腐湯

Stuffed Pepper Soup Precooked Basmati Rice Version

Have you noticed the main difference between a western soup and a Chinese soup? I was surprised that how thick and stuffed for some of the western soups, especially from the states. It's almost like a full-on meal to me, the actual soupy part was just like a wee bit extra juice inside the bowl.

As for the Chinese soup, it's really focus on the liquid part. The ingredients inside are the supporting roles instead. I guess that's why in Chinese we call it "drink" the soup instead of western's "eat" the soup.

Stuffed pepper soup precooked basmati rice version - 

Ingredients (about 5 portions)?

• 2 rice measuring cups/about 1 1/2 regular cups basmati rice
• 500 grams ground beef
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 2 big garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1 box/about 400ml beef stock
• 1 can/about 400ml total but 200ml solids whole tomatoes
• 2 medium fresh tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried onion powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard

How?

Precook 2 rice measuring cups of basmati rice, should be around 1 1/2 regular measuring cups if you don't have the smaller rice measuring cups on hand. Better to cook the rice the day before and use a bit less water than usual in order to get a more suitable dryer result for this recipe.

Peel and dice the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Cube the fresh tomatoes. Destem, remove the seeds and pith, and dice all the bell peppers. Chop the leafy part of the parsley.

Bring out a Dutch oven or a big pot, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil then switch to medium heat. Wait till a bit warm then add in the ground beef. Cook and mix a bit till the meat changes to a whiter color.

Drain out excess fat if needed then add in diced onion. Cook for couple minutes. Add in garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Continue to cook for two more minutes.

Add in all the bell peppers and stir-fry for about a minute. Drain the canned tomatoes then pour into the pot. Also transfer diced fresh tomatoes to the mixture too.

There we add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of dried onion powder, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of yellow mustard. Mix and let it cook for couple minutes. 

Pour in the beef stock then bring the whole thing to a boil, then lower the heat to keep it at a medium bubbling stage. Just leave it there and cook for around 20 minutes. Stir once a while to prevent sticking on the bottom. 

It's time to add the cooked rice, you can bring the rice out straight from the fridge and add to the soup. Mix and cook for couple minutes should be enough. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. I actually added a little more salt here.

Mix in chopped flat leaf parsley and let it cook for 30 more seconds. Scoop and serve.

Some also like to add some shredded cheese to the stuffed pepper soup, but I intended to keep it as "lactose-free" version. However, you can definitely mix in some cheese towards the end for a more "luscious and mouthful" type of comfort. 

Other western soup recipes:

• Chicken orzo soup
• Minnesota wild rice soup
• Ham and potato soup
• Caldo de albóndigas (Mexican meatball soup)
• Sopa de estrellitas