Braised tofu with vegetables (hongshao doufu)
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
Firm tofu straight out of its packet is full of water: put it in the wok as it is and it sticks to the metal and tears when you turn it. So I leave it for a quarter of an hour under a saucepan full of water before cutting it. It then browns in two minutes a side and keeps its shape right to the end of the braise.
The Chinese name, hongshao doufu, means "red-cooked tofu": hongshao is a braise in soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and sugar that gives food a reddish-brown colour. This home-style version adds shiitake, a carrot, a red pepper and sugar snap peas, then thickens the sauce with cornflour so it coats the tofu. Made with vegetable stock and a vegetarian mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce, the dish contains no meat or seafood.
Braised tofu with vegetables (hongshao doufu)
Pressed firm tofu browned in the wok, braised for five minutes with shiitake and carrot in a soy sauce and Shaoxing wine stock, then thickened with cornflour, with red pepper and sugar snap peas.
For 3 or 4 people, use a 32cm wok with a lid. The tofu goes in two batches, then the whole braise fits in the wok.
Ingredients
For the tofu and vegetables
For the sauce
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 32cm wok with a lid
- Flat spatula to lift the tofu
- Clean tea towel and a weight of about 1kg
- Saucepan for the rice
- 1 bowl and 1 small glass
Method
Press the tofu
Drain 500g firm tofu and wrap it in a clean tea towel. Put a chopping board on top, then a weight of about 1kg, such as a saucepan full of water, and leave for 15 minutes: the tofu releases a good amount of water and firms up. If your shiitake are dried, put them to soak now in a bowl of very hot water; they need 30 minutes.
Make the sauce
In a bowl, mix 350ml vegetable stock, 1 tbsp vegetarian mushroom sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine and ½ tsp sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. In a separate small glass, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water.
Cut the vegetables and tofu
Peel the carrot and slice it on the diagonal into 3mm rounds. Deseed the pepper and cut it into 2 to 3cm pieces. Trim the sugar snap peas, pulling off any strings. Remove the shiitake stalks and slice the caps into 5mm strips, then slice the bamboo shoots and the garlic. Unwrap the tofu, pat it dry and cut it into 1.5cm thick slices, then into 3 to 4cm squares.
Put the rice on
Rinse 300g jasmine rice until the rinsing water stays almost clear, and start cooking it now. It takes about 20 minutes, resting time included, so it will be ready when you thicken the sauce.
Sear the tofu
Heat the wok over a high heat until it's lightly smoking. Sear the tofu in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1½ tablespoons of oil, lay the squares flat without them touching and leave them for 2 minutes without moving them. When the underside is golden and comes away on its own, turn them over and give them 2 minutes more, then set aside on a plate.
Fry the garlic
Turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 tsp oil to the empty wok, add the garlic and stir for about twenty seconds: it should smell strong and only just colour, without browning.
Braise under the lid
Return the tofu to the wok. Stir the bowl of sauce, pour it in, then add the shiitake, carrot and bamboo shoots. Turn the heat up to high. As soon as it boils, turn down to medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, shaking the wok once or twice so the tofu doesn't stick. It takes on the colour of the sauce and some of the liquid evaporates.
Add the pepper and sugar snap peas
Take off the lid and turn the heat back up to high. Add the pepper and sugar snap peas, then mix by sliding the spatula under the tofu to lift it, without turning it over roughly. Give it 2 minutes: the sugar snap peas turn bright green and stay crunchy.
Thicken the sauce
Taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt if it needs it. Stir the glass of cornflour, which settles to the bottom, then pour it in a thin stream while stirring gently. Within 30 seconds, the sauce thickens, turns glossy and coats the tofu. If it's too thick, loosen it with a splash of hot water. If it's still too runny, let it bubble for a minute more.
Serve
Off the heat, add ½ tsp sesame oil and mix one last time. Serve straight away on the rice, while the sugar snap peas are still crunchy.
Wok tips
- Tofu sticks when the wok isn't hot enough or when you move it too soon. Wait until the oil shimmers before putting in the squares, then let the crust form: a golden side comes away on its own. If you need more time to turn all the pieces, turn the heat down to medium rather than letting them burn.
- On induction, let the wok heat for 2 minutes before adding the oil, and use a flat-bottomed one so it stays in contact with the hob. When you pour in the sauce, it comes back to the boil within seconds: turn it down straight away to a gentle simmer, or the liquid reduces too much during the 5 minutes under the lid.
- Once braised, the tofu is more fragile than when it comes out of the searing. To mix, toss the wok with a flick of the wrist or slide the spatula along the side to lift from underneath, rather than stirring in the middle.
- Braising wets the patina of a carbon steel wok. Five minutes won't damage it, but sauce left cooling in the wok for hours will eventually eat into it. Empty the wok after serving, rinse it with hot water, dry it over the heat and wipe on a thin layer of oil. If grey patches appear on the bottom, season that area again.
Variations
- Not vegetarian: replace the vegetable stock with chicken stock and the vegetarian sauce with oyster sauce, in the same amounts.
- Spicier: fry 1 tablespoon of doubanjiang (chilli bean paste) and a thinly sliced fresh red chilli with the garlic, then scatter over sliced spring onion to serve. Don't add any more salt to the sauce, as doubanjiang is already very salty.
- With what's in season: 100g button or oyster mushrooms instead of the shiitake, and fine green beans instead of the sugar snap peas. Green beans take longer to cook: braise them with the carrot.
- Without Shaoxing wine or dark soy sauce: 1 tablespoon of dry sherry replaces the wine, and an extra ½ teaspoon of sugar replaces the dark soy sauce. The sauce will be a little paler.
Storage
Two days in the fridge, in a sealed container, with the rice kept separately. Reheat for 2 to 3 minutes in the wok over a medium heat with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, which loosen the sauce set by the cornflour; the sugar snap peas lose their crunch. Avoid freezing it: the tofu comes out spongy and the vegetables soft.
The Shirane Japanese Wok
Carbon steel, Ø 32cm, free lid
Frequently asked questions
Why does my tofu stick to the wok or break up?
Most often, it was still full of water or the wok wasn't hot enough. Press it for 15 minutes, pat it dry, wait until the oil shimmers and don't move it until the underside is golden: it then comes away on its own. Silken tofu, too soft for this dish, falls apart whatever you do.
My sauce has gone lumpy, what can I do?
The cornflour settled at the bottom of the glass, or it went in all at once without stirring. Always stir the glass again just before, pour it in a thin stream into a simmering sauce and stir as you pour. If lumps still form, crush them against the side of the wok with the back of the spatula and keep stirring for 30 seconds.
What can I use instead of oyster sauce in a vegetarian dish?
A vegetarian mushroom sauce, often sold as vegetarian stir-fry sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce in Asian supermarkets. It's flavoured with shiitake and you use the same amount. Failing that, 2 teaspoons of light soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of sugar make a less rounded but decent sauce.
Is braised tofu with vegetables a Thai dish?
No, it's a Chinese dish. The word hongshao refers to the Chinese way of braising in soy sauce, sugar and Shaoxing wine, and oyster sauce, replaced here by the mushroom sauce, comes from Cantonese cooking.
