Frozen tofu with pak choy (look, Eric, I caught the steam but it's not wispy)
I have this stupid fridge that sometimes freezes all my veggies and sometimes sweats all over my leftovers. Last week it decided to freeze everything, including the tofu that I had cut up for cooking mapo tofu. This is what frozen tofu looks like:
My Shanghainese MIL intentionally freezes her tofu. She calls it bing doefu/dong doefu, or frozen tofu and this is one way she cooks it, with dried shrimps and pak choy. I know most readers dislike veggie recipes and this is a humble dish that I never thought I'd blog about. But really, this is an authentic Shanghainese home-style dish so just in case you accidentally froze your tofu, you may like to know that you don't have to throw it out.
Pak Choy With Frozen Tofu
1/2 kg pak choy, cut into small pieces
2 T dried shrimps, washed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2-3 pieces tofu*
1/2 t salt
1 pinch chicken stock powder
1/4 cup water (may not be required)
3 T oil
* Wash the tofu well, soak it in clean water for 10 minutes, then pour away the water. Put the tofu into a plastic bag or leave it in a bowl (cover it) and put into your icebox and let it freeze until solid. This will take a couple of hours so I usually leave it overnight. Take it out of the fridge an hour or two before you want to cook it, leaving it at room temp to thaw. Cut into longish pieces about 2 x 5 cm and lightly squeeze out half the water.
1. Heat oil in wok/frying pan, add the dried shrimps and garlic and fry in high heat until shrimps are brown. Add the pak choy, stir, then add the tofu, the salt and chicken stock powder. Cover and cook under medium heat to sweat the veg and tofu.
2. After 1 minute, increase the heat to high and stir-fry the veg n tofu. There should be some liquid now from the tofu and veg. If not, add about 1/4 cup. Stir-fry until the veg is quite soft. Season to taste.
I have this stupid fridge that sometimes freezes all my veggies and sometimes sweats all over my leftovers. Last week it decided to freeze everything, including the tofu that I had cut up for cooking mapo tofu. This is what frozen tofu looks like:
My Shanghainese MIL intentionally freezes her tofu. She calls it bing doefu/dong doefu, or frozen tofu and this is one way she cooks it, with dried shrimps and pak choy. I know most readers dislike veggie recipes and this is a humble dish that I never thought I'd blog about. But really, this is an authentic Shanghainese home-style dish so just in case you accidentally froze your tofu, you may like to know that you don't have to throw it out.
Pak Choy With Frozen Tofu
1/2 kg pak choy, cut into small pieces
2 T dried shrimps, washed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2-3 pieces tofu*
1/2 t salt
1 pinch chicken stock powder
1/4 cup water (may not be required)
3 T oil
* Wash the tofu well, soak it in clean water for 10 minutes, then pour away the water. Put the tofu into a plastic bag or leave it in a bowl (cover it) and put into your icebox and let it freeze until solid. This will take a couple of hours so I usually leave it overnight. Take it out of the fridge an hour or two before you want to cook it, leaving it at room temp to thaw. Cut into longish pieces about 2 x 5 cm and lightly squeeze out half the water.
1. Heat oil in wok/frying pan, add the dried shrimps and garlic and fry in high heat until shrimps are brown. Add the pak choy, stir, then add the tofu, the salt and chicken stock powder. Cover and cook under medium heat to sweat the veg and tofu.
2. After 1 minute, increase the heat to high and stir-fry the veg n tofu. There should be some liquid now from the tofu and veg. If not, add about 1/4 cup. Stir-fry until the veg is quite soft. Season to taste.
Hehe. Can't take credit for that, I read it off some website.
ReplyDeletehmmm interesting..i will definetely remember this if i have some tofu which i could not manage to cook immediately. next time i will freeze it.
ReplyDeleteIn time like this cannot waste food.
fooman: the steam is frm the veg, not frm a pot of water!n i welcome more tips!
ReplyDeletenee:true true. hey, tapioca is RM5 to 6 per kg here. how come it's still less than RM2 in kuching?? we sabahans have always been shortchanged.