General Tso's Tofu

I previously posted this recipe in an Instagram post, but since I make it so much, I figured it would be easier to find here for future reference.  The sauce recipe is adapted from Lev Grossman's Best General Tso Tofu recipe on Food52, and the idea to use sweet potato starch as the coating for the tofu came from my friend Rebecca.  If you don't have sweet potato starch, you can use regular potato starch or cornstarch or even just fry the tofu without any coating.

General Tso's Tofu
makes 2-3 servings

14-16 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu
1 large head of broccoli
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
Oil for frying
Kosher salt, to taste
Sweet potato flour for coating
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons chicken stock
Gochujang or sriracha, to taste
1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Handful of scallions, chopped into 1" sections
Steamed rice

Drain and cut tofu into cubes (no need to press!). 

Heat oil in a large skillet and add 1 minced clove of garlic. Add broccoli florets, season with salt, and stir fry until bright green. Add ~1/3 cup water, cover, and steam until broccoli is tender. Remove from pan and wipe down the pan.

Cover bottom of skillet with 1/4" oil and heat over medium. Toss tofu cubes in sweet potato flour and fry in batches until all sides are golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. While tofu is frying, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, chicken stock, and gochujang to taste.

Stir fry the remaining 2 minced cloves of garlic, ginger slices, and scallions in remaining oil. Add the sauce and cook until thickened. Add the fried tofu and broccoli back in and stir to coat. Serve with steamed rice.

Next:  No Knead Sourdough Focaccia
Previously:  My Sourdough Challah 

My Mom's Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

This is one of the original recipes in the cookbook that I made for my mom's Christmas gift 8 years ago.  I would've shared it earlier, except I thought I'd shared it already!  It's a classic dish to order from a Chinese restaurant--velvety strips of marinated beef stir fried with tender crisp broccoli in a flavorful brown sauce--and perfect served over steamed white rice.

To keep the beef tender and not chewy, it's important to slice the strips against the grain.  The addition of cornstarch in the marinade further helps improve the texture of the beef.  Since the broccoli takes a lot longer to cook than the beef, it is cooked separately while the beef is marinating and then added back in at the end.  You'll want to use a large pan with a lid so that you can steam the broccoli after a quick stir fry.

My favorite part about this recipe is the marinade which ends up becoming the sauce upon stir frying with the beef.  It is already quite fragrant due to the soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil, but my mom adds a secret ingredient that really brings it over the top:  cinnamon!  Only a tiny amount is added that you can't really taste it, but the aromatic spice somehow boosts all the other flavors in the sauce in a way you wouldn't expect.

My Mom's Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
serves 4

1 lb. flank or sirloin steak, sliced thinly against the grain
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
6 cups broccoli florets
Salt, to taste
1 cup water, divided

Whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, and cinnamon.  Toss with the sliced steak and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

In a large wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil on high and add the broccoli florets.  Season with salt and stir fry until bright green.  Add 1/2 cup water and cover.  Steam until the broccoli is done.  Transfer the broccoli to a bowl, and wipe down the wok.

Add another 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on high again.  Add the steak and marinade to the wok.  Rinse out the container you used to hold the beef with 1/2 cup of water and add to the wok.  Stir fry until the beef is just done and no longer red.  Add the broccoli back into the wok and continue to stir fry for another minute or two to combine.  Serve hot.

Next:  Zucchini Pizza
Previously:  How to Make an American Flag Cake
Two Years Ago:  Cleveland Cassata Cake (Bonus:  In a Jar!)
Three Years Ago:  Backyard Mint Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles
Six Years Ago:  Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
Seven Years Ago:  Curried Carrot Soup

Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli

A couple of weeks ago I got two Boston Organics deliveries in a row with collard greens and broccoli. I was fine with the broccoli, other than possibly getting bored with it, but I didn't really want to make braised collard greens with bacon again. So when I saw this recipe for creamy coconut collards, I was pretty intrigued. I would never have thought that collard greens, a staple in Southern soul food, could be used in an Asian-inspired dish. But it's a brilliant combination; the slightly sweet creaminess of the coconut milk tempers whatever bitterness the collard greens may have left after braising, and the curry gives it just enough kick to cut through the cream.

The only thing was, served over rice, the texture was just too blah. So I tried it over chow mein noodles (not the crispy La Choy kind; the kind that you boil), added some stir-fried broccoli, and the dish turned into something sublime and much, much greater than just the sum of its parts. I've already made this twice and will most likely make the next time I get collard greens; it's really that good.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take note of how much of what I used and basically "cooked by feel". But this dish is too good not to share, so here's what I did:

Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli
serves 3-4

Cut off the florets from 3 stalks of broccoli to end up with about 2 cups of florets. Mince a clove or two of garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and add the garlic and salt. Toss in the broccoli and stir fry until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cover to finish cooking by steaming about another 5 minutes. Once it is done, remove the broccoli from the wok and set aside.

Wash the collard greens, remove the stems, and cut the leaves into ribbons. Mince another clove or two of garlic. Heat up some oil in the cleaned wok and add the garlic and collard greens. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add a can of coconut milk and curry powder to taste (start with 2 teaspoons). Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until the collard greens are done and the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the broccoli and toss. Remove from heat.

In large pot, boil salted water. Add the steamed chow mein to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and add to the curried coconut collards. Toss to mix and salt to taste. Serve hot.

You can add chicken or pork to the dish by cutting it into bite-sized pieces and browning it in the hot oil before adding the garlic and collard greens. If you can't find steamed chow mein, you could probably substitute Hong Kong style egg noodles (like the kind I used for the pan-fried noodles), ramen, or possibly even angel hair cooked al dente. I probably wouldn't use anything too thick or chewy; the reason why the noodles worked while the rice didn't is because you want some bite in the texture. I made this with regular coconut milk, but next time I will try it with reduced fat coconut milk.

ETA:  I tried it with the reduced fat coconut milk, and it wasn't anywhere near as yummy.

If you try making this, please let me know what you think!

Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles

And now it's time to get back to some more Asian dishes. Pan-fried noodles are one of my favorite dishes at Cantonese restaurants, and I made this a couple of weeks ago when I needed to used up some (more) leftovers from hot pot as well as some broccoli from a Boston Organics delivery. I was really surprised at how easy it was; the hardest part was going to the Asian grocery store and finding the fresh Hong Kong style egg noodles. You could probably try making these with fresh or cooked semolina or non-Hong Kong style egg noodles, but the results won't be the same. The thin Hong Kong style egg noodles allow you pan-fry them while fresh so that they get crispy and cooked through without needing to boil them first, and they serve as the perfect medium for absorbing the gravy as well.

Other than the noodles, you can probably substitute any other meats and veggies you want: shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, squid, or baby corn, straw mushrooms, snow peas, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, etc.

Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles (based on sugarlens' recipe)
serves 4

1 (16 oz.) package Hong Kong style noodles (I found these in the refrigerated aisle at the Asian grocery store)
2 small chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1 small onion, sliced thinly
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced

Marinade:
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cooking wine

Thickening:
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 tablespoon of water

Add oil to a heated pan. Add noodles. The noodles should brown very quickly. Use a pair of chopsticks or a spatula to make sure the noodles are getting browned evenly. If you need to, use the spatula to press the noodles against the pan or add some more cooking oil to make sure you brown most of the noodles. Plate the noodles and set aside.

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and add the sliced chicken. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce. In a smaller bowl, combine corn starch and water. Set aside.

Add oil to a heated pan and saute garlic and broccoli for about 3 minutes or until garlic is starting to turn brown. Add a half cup of water and cover to let the broccoli finish cooking by steaming. After 5 minutes, remove cover and check to see if the broccoli is done. Salt to taste and dish out.

Add oil to a heated pan and cook onions, mushrooms, and chicken until done. Add broccoli back to the pan. Stir well. Add the sauce mixture. Bring it to a boil.

Add the corn starch mixture and give a quick stir. Bring it to a boil.

Pour gravy on top of the noodles. Serve immediately!

I'm definitely one of those "save the best for last" type eaters, so I almost always have a little bit of the crunchy noodles left at the end. Yum!

Mayonnaise Shrimp with Candied Walnuts

Back when I lived in Taiwan at the insistence of some of my friends I went prawn fishing once. It was a curious sport and consisted of sitting on an upended plastic bucket next to an artificial pool stocked with hundreds of prawns. You were equipped with a fishing rod, raw chicken meat, and a razor blade. Basically, you cut the chicken with the razor, hook it on the fish hook, dip it into the pool, and just wait. Much like crabbing, there's no tug, you just wait and pull up at irregular intervals and see if you caught anything.

I remember catching a good amount because every time I caught one, I'd start screaming. These prawn did not resemble the nice headless, frozen shrimp we can buy in grocery stores. No, these prawns were the size of my hand with long antennae and legs that still moved! It was more akin to an insect than a shrimp, and they scared the heck out of me. Fortunately, my friends had no such issues and were able to net them for me.

Apparently, part of the fee that you pay to fish for the prawn included grilling them and serving them for you when you were done. Then I ran into an even larger problem--I had never removed the head from a prawn before; whenever I had that particular issue I just had my mom do it for me. But my mom was half a world away, and the longer I hesitated, the less prawns were left as everybody else was grabbing them as fast as they could eat them. So I finally sucked it up and did it. I'm still really grossed out at pictures of prawn though.

Anyways, this recipe has nothing to do with those prawns other than the fact that it is a shrimp recipe, but I just thought I'd share. I believe it is Cantonese in origin, and the first time I learned how to make it was from a friend in college that had learned it from his mom.

The combination of juicy prawns lightly fried and tossed in a sweet and tangy mayonnaise based sauce is hard to resist. Add to that candied walnuts and a ring of bright green broccoli, and you've got yourself a dish that will definitely impress. The trickiest part is timing--you want to fry the shrimp at the last second so that it is still hot when you serve it. Otherwise, you can prepare everything else ahead of time.

I loosely followed the Honey Walnut Prawns recipe from About.com, but the next time I make this I will definitely try another method for making the candied walnuts. Their directions were pretty complicated, and I know I've made candied walnuts before via another method that involved toasting them rather than frying them. There are tons of recipes out there for making candied walnuts so I'll let you choose whichever one seems best for you.

Mayonnaise Shrimp (loosely based on the Honey Walnut Prawns recipe from About.com)
serves 6

1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil

1 cup broccoli crowns, cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 lb of large or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup oil

Rinse walnuts, then boil in 5 cups water for 15 minutes. Start boiling another 2 cups of water separately. Drain and add 2 cups boiling water and sugar. Continue boiling and stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.

In a small saucepan, heat oil until almost smoking, about 400 °F. With two slotted spoons, use the first to drain a small batch of walnuts. Carefully add to the oil and stir with the second slotted spoon. Deep fry walnuts until shiny and brown, no longer golden; this will only take a minute or two. Use the second slotted spoon to remove the walnuts from the oil and place in a heat-proof bowl lined with paper towels to drain. Continue frying walnuts in small batches. Store walnuts in an air-tight container until ready to use.

In a large saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil until hot. Add broccoli and salt and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan and cover, allowing the broccoli to steam for about 3-5 minutes until done. Remove from pan and line the edge of a large plate with the broccoli pieces. Alternatively, you can steam the broccoli instead of pan-frying/steaming them.

Mix mayonnaise, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon juice in a medium bowl until smooth.

Place the corn starch in a shallow bowl and coat the shrimp well.

Heat 1/2 cup of oil until very hot, then deep fry the shrimp until golden brown, working in small batches. This is a very quick process; the shrimp only needs to be cooked for about 30 seconds each. Drain, then fold in mayonnaise mixture.

Mix well, sprinkle with walnuts, and transfer to the middle of the dish ringed with broccoli. Serve hot with rice.