Posted on Wed 17th May 2023
Pei Pa Tofu
Perfectly crispy tofu, savoury spices, and incredible flavours in every bite.
Cuisine
Chinese
Time
2 hr
Servings
3 people
Ingredients
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½ thumb sized piece of ginger
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1 spring onion
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3 whole pak choi
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1 bowl of corn flour paste (1 tablespoon of corn flour mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
The Tofu Mix
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4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in water overnight (reserve the soaking water for later)
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6 whole green beans
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2 cloves garlic
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¼ thumb size piece of ginger
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1 spring onion
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500g fresh firm tofu
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¼ teaspoon salt
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¼ teaspoon white pepper
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1 teaspoon sesame oil
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2 tablespoons corn flour
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5-6 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
The Sauce
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1 ½ tablespoons Lee Kum Kee vegetarian stir fry sauce
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½ tablespoon light soy sauce
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3 drops dark soy sauce
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300ml mushroom soaking water
Method
Preparation
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Soak the mushrooms in hot water for a minimum of 2 hours, or ideally overnight, then drain and reserve the soaking water for later.
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Finely slice the ginger and roughly chop the spring onion.
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Slice the pak choi into quarters, lengthways.
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Press the fresh tofu for 10-15 minutes by placing a couple of pieces of kitchen towel on a large plate, followed by the tofu, topped with a couple more sheets of kitchen towel and then place another large plate on top of the tofu.
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Finely chop the soaked mushrooms, garlic, ginger and spring onion and place in a large mixing bowl.
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Top and tail the green beans and finely chop.
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Dry the tofu by dabbing well all the way around with a kitchen towel then add both the tofu and beans into a mixing bowl along with the remaining ‘The Tofu Mix’ ingredients. Use your fingertips to break the tofu up, creating a thick paste. Add the flour, and breadcrumbs, mix well and set aside ready to deep fry tofu balls.
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Mix ‘The Sauce’ ingredients together in a bowl, ready to cook. Lastly, mix ‘the cornflour paste’ together, ready for the last part of the cooking stage.
Cooking
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Half-fill a medium sized pot, wok or deep-fryer with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C (350°F), or use a wooden skewer or wooden chopstick to test the oil by placing the tip of the wood into the oil: if the wood starts to fizz after a second or so, the oil is at roughly 180°C.
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Using 2 dessert spoons, carefully ‘quenelle’ the tofu, then lay a spoon of tofu mix into the hot oil. Repeat this by spoon frying in batches of 4 or 5, keeping the oil at a high temperature. Deep fry the tofu until golden brown all around, roughly 3-4 minutes, then remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon or Chinese frying skimmer and drain on a few pieces of kitchen towel. Repeat until all of your mixture has been used up.
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Now heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan or claypot to a medium – high heat. Once hot, add the sliced ginger and roughly chopped spring onion to the oil and stir through for 30 seconds to a minute. Pour ‘The Sauce’ into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the pak choi into the saucepan and boil through in the sauce for 2 minutes before laying the veg directly into a serving dish, ready for the finished tofu and sauce.
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Pour your corn flour paste into the sauce, stir through and bring to a boil. Add the fried tofu pieces to the saucepan and continue boiling for 1-2 minutes, whilst carefully wrapping the sauce around the tofu quenelles. Pour all the tofu and sauce all over the pak choi and serve.