Pei Pa Tofu

• ½ thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 spring onion
• 3 whole pak choi
• 1 bowl of corn flour paste (1 tablespoon of corn flour mixed with 3 tablespoons water)

The Tofu Mix

• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in water overnight (reserve the soaking water for later)
• 6 whole green beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ thumb size piece of ginger
• 1 spring onion
• 500g fresh firm tofu
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons corn flour
• 5-6 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

The Sauce

• 1 ½ tablespoons Lee Kum Kee vegetarian stir fry sauce
• ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
• 3 drops dark soy sauce
• 300ml mushroom soaking water

PREPARATION

• Soak the mushrooms in hot water for a minimum of 2 hours, or ideally overnight, then drain and reserve the soaking water for later.

• Finely slice the ginger and roughly chop the spring onion.

• Slice the pak choi into quarters, lengthways.

• 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.

• Finely chop the soaked mushrooms, garlic, ginger and spring onion and place in a large mixing bowl.

• Top and tail the green beans and finely chop.

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.