Tofu in Blackbean Sauce with Rice Noodles

Here is a recipe from the book "Vegetarian 30 minute Thai cookbook" by Sarah Beattie. The dish goes particularly well with the wide flat rice noodles that are commonly used for pad thai. You can add an extra crunch by scattering a tablespoon of chopped peanuts or cashews over the top before serving if you like. 

Serves 4-6

2 T vegetable oil 

250g/9oz/ 1 1/2 cups cubed firm beancurd(tofu) 

3 medium onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 t grated root ginger

1 fresh chilli, crushed and finely chopped

1 t shredded lemongrass (if you are using the leaf rather than the stalk it's easiest to do this with a pair of clean scissors - i used the leaves because I have lemongrass in my garden and its easier to get to than the stalk) 

3 medium carrots,sliced

125g/4oz/1cup mangetout (snow peas) (I used broccoli instead)

140g/5oz/ 3/4 cup blackbean sauce

90ml/ 3fl oz/ 1/3 cup water

1. heat the oil. Pat the beancurd dry and fry in batches in the oil until nicely browned. Drain. (I like to heat under the grill with no oil for a oil-free version.)

2. Fry the onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass for 1 min. Stir in the carrots and cook for a further minute.

3. Add the mangetout and cook for a further minute. 

4. Add back the fried beancurd. Stir in the blackbean sauce and water. Allow to simmer briefly, then serve. 

(if you are serving with noodles you can add them to the pan at this point and fry for a further 2 minutes or so.)

Garam Masala Tofu Stir-fry

This is one of my own recipes that I came up with, based on a recipe my mother makes. I love the idea of the Indian spice mix Garam Masala with the tofu, its an unexpected mixture that is surprisingly tasty and different, however if you haven’t tasted Garam masala before, you might not like this recipe – its quite strong as garam masla is usually used quite sparingly. Because it is my own recipe the measurements are quite approximate and you may need to adjust to taste.

Serves 2 (approx)

Ingredients

1 t garam masala spice * (see note)

3 T (Australian so 1 T = 4 teaspoons) soy sauce

½ pound of tofu

Mix the soy sauce and garam masala and then toss through tofu. Marinate for 30 min or so.

Other ingredients:

1 onion, sliced

1 garlic, sliced thinly

1 t ginger

1 stick cinnamon

1 red chili, sliced or chopped

1 large carrot, sliced

2 stalks celery – cut in large sections diagonally

1 red capsicum chopped

1zucchini julienne

1 t cornflower

(You can off course substitute for whatever vegetables you have on hand that would taste good in a stir fry. My mother usually puts shitake mushrooms in her version of this recipe.)

1.      Either fry the tofu till crisp or grill the tofu (no need for oil if grilling). Reserve the soysauce mixture.

2.      Meanwhile either fry in a bit of oil or water simmer the onion until almost soft, then add the garlic, ginger, chili and cinnamon stick with a bit more water. Simmer for a few minutes.

3.      Add the chopped vegetables and stir fry until almost done – about 5-10 minutes depending what method you are using and your stove heat.

4.      Mix 1 teaspoon of cornflower into the reserved soysauce or into a little water. Add the tofu and the cornflower mixture to the pan with the vegetables. Cook for 1-2 more minutes until thickened.

5.      Remove the cinnamon stick and serve over jasmine rice.

What is Garam Masala?

Translated garam means “hot” and masala means “spices. The spice mix is common in the North Indian cuisine and is thought to create heat in the body in a different way from chilies. It gets bitterly cold in the winter in Northern Italy and whereas chillies cool the body by promoting perspiration, garam masala creates heat within, keeping it warm, and is why this spice is often preferred over using chilies in those parts of India.

There are a variety of garam masala available and you should try a few before deciding on one you like because a good garam masla is crucial to the flavor of a prepared dish.  

If you want to try making garam masala yourself here is a recipe I found from India’s Vegetarian cooking – by Monisha Bharadwaj, a highly recommended cookbook, it’s worth checking out just for beautiful the photos not only of recipes but all over India.

This makes enough for one curry for 4 people:

10 black peppercorns

1 t cumin seeds

Small stick of cinnamon

Seeds from 2-3 cardamom pods

3 cloves

Dry roast all the spices in a small saucepan for a couple of minutes until a delicious fragrance wafts up. Put the spices in a mortar and bash to a fine powder, or blitz in a coffee mill. Use at once.