Happy Year of the Pig. I’m a bit late cooking for Chinese New Year. Life got in the way.
Here is a wonderful stir fry served with noodles that I’m pretty sure you will enjoy. No pigs here, though, just a great melange of vegetables.
Stir fry, by the way, is a cooking technique that is believed to have originated a couple thousand years ago during the Han dynasty in China, perhaps first used in roasting tea leaves. It was a pricey way to cook, though, in that it required the use of expensive oil and fuel. As a result, the technique was not widely used until later.
The term “stir fry” was first introduced in the West by a physician/cook named Buwei Yang Chao in a 1945 cookbook, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese. Her book was an important early book of authentic Chinese recipes published in English. Chao’s Harvard linguist husband, Yuen Ren, and her daughter Rulan assisted in the translation and coined the terms stir fry and pot sticker. Author Pearl Buck wrote the preface to the book and did a lot of the proofreading. Buck reportedly was so intrigued by the recipes that she interrupted her proofreading mid-task to start cooking in her kitchen. Buck later remarked that she would like to nominate Chao for a Nobel Peace Prize, saying “What better road to universal peace is there than to gather around the table where new and delicious dishes are set forth, dishes which, though untasted by us, we are destined to enjoy and love.”
This recipe is adapted from one that appeared in the New York Times. Here is the link: Stir-Fried Tofu and Peppers.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 pound firm tofu (sliced)
- 3 T. soy sauce
- 2 t. brown sugar
- 3 T. peanut oil
- 3 t. hoisin sauce
- 2 t. sesame oil
- 1 yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into 1-inch squares or strips)
- 1 red bell pepper (seeded and cut into 1-inch squares or strips)
- 1 green bell pepper (seeded and cut into s1-inch squares or strips)
- 1 T. minced fresh ginger
- 2 large garlic cloves (minced)
- Dried red pepper flakes to taste (I used 1/4 t.)
- 4 scallions (white and green parts, cut into 1/2-1 inch lenghs)
- 6-8 ounces brown mushrooms (sliced)
- 1/2 C. fresh bean sprouts
- 1 Cup bok choy (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
- 8 ounces linguini noodles or Chinese rice noodles
- Chopped roasted peanuts for garnish
- Green onions for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the tofu, drain it and dry it. Wrap the tofu in a piece of cloth and place a cutting board (or something heavy) on top of the tofu to dry it further by pressing it. Let it sit for about 15 minutes under the weight. Slice the tofu into pieces measuring about 1/2 inch thick and 1 by 2 inch wide and long.
- Mix 1 T. soy sauce, 1 t. brown sugar and 1 T. peanut oil in a bowl. Add the sliced tofu to the bowl and let the tofu marinate in the sauce for about 10 minutes.
- Mix 2 T. soy sauce, 1 t. brown sugar, 3 t. hoisin sauce and 2 t. sesame oil together in another bowl. I think the amount of brown sugar and hoisin sauce can be increased to your taste. Set aside.
- Boil noodles in salted water. Drain, toss with a little oil (not sesame) and set aside.
- Heat your skillet or wok over high heat. Add the remaining 2 T. peanut oil and reduce the heat to medium high. Add the peppers to the pan and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. You want the peppers to begin to soften. Add the garlic and ginger to the hot pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds. You want the ginger and garlic to begin to smell fragrant. Add the marinated tofu (and sauce) to the pan along with the dried red pepper flakes, bok choy, sliced mushrooms, bean sprouts and the green onions. Stir fry for a couple minutes. Add half of the sauce to the mixture. Cover the pan and cook for about two to three minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and stir and adjust seasonings.
- Add rest of the sauce (or to your taste) and the noodles to the pan and stir to mix well. (I held some of the noodles back so that I could get a two-toned effect when I plated the dish.)The noodles will absorb the sauce. Arrange the stir-fry attractively on a serving dish and garnish with chopped peanuts and chopped green onions.
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