SOFT TOFU WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE

• doses: SERVES 4 TO 6

Ingredientes

14 to 16 ounces (390 to 450 grams) soft tofu or firm silken tofu

1 tablespoon potato starch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts kept separate

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic

2 tablespoons fermented black beans, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped

1 cup unsalted stock of any kind or water

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Dash of ground white pepper

Instruções

Cut the tofu into ¾-inch cubes and set aside.

Make a slurry by combining the starch with 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl. Stir until smooth and set aside

Heat a wok over medium heat unti a drop of water evaporates immediately upon contact, then add the oil and swirl to coat the sides. Add the scallion whites, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until the garlic is fragrarnt but not yet browned, about 30 seconds.

Add the fermented black beans and stir-fry briefly to sizzle and release their flavor.

Add the stock, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. When the liquid is bubbling, gently add the tofu and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cook the tofu for about 2 minutes, gently moving the wok under the tofu instead of stirring. Give the slurry a stir and add half to the wok, using a spatula to fold it into the sauce until it thickens, then repeat with the remaining slurry. Remove from the heat and garnish with the sesame oil, white pepper, and scallion greens.

Notas

I taught English for a year in Tamsui. a northern port Taipei, and if I managed to commute there early I would

lunch at a vegetarian Iunch canteen across the street. It was tucked into the back of a produce market and you'd miss it passing by, try show up at lunchtime, and the place would be packed, noisy with the clinking of stainless-steel chopsticks and the chatty elderly Buddhiy vegetarians. For about three US dollars, you could pick five súrfriea, from behind the counter, and they heaped a round pat of stearnet mixed purple rice on the plate (and handed you a bowl foor unirited,

self-serve seaweed soup, to boot).

Out of all their dishes, my favorite was this stew with soft cubes of tofu swimming in a soothing, glossy, thickened sauce, dotted with savory bits of fermented black soybeans. If Mapo Tofu (page i59) is the fun, fiery one, then this is her low-key and cozy sister. Be sure to use soft tofu for this dish. Underrated in a world where firmness is supreme, it's delicate and breaks easily, but in a scoopable, bubbling

stew like this, that's exactly what you want.