In general I don’t practise “meat free Mondays”, and didn’t join in the Veganuary movement. I’m too greedy for a wide variety of foods, plant based and otherwise, however I do like to strike a balance sometimes! If I have had a few indulgent meals, I often switch to a meat free option, preferably for a few days to give my digestion a rest. When it comes to plant based protein, I like the unseasoned and natural (or as can be) varieties. “Natural” has such a wide meaning, personally it means they are not ultra processed. “Ultra processed foods” tend to have added salt or sodium, sugar, and/or fat, as well as artificial colours, flavours, and/or stabilisers. It’s also likely to contain a lot of refined carbohydrate and saturated fat, and calories.
For that reason, I prefer legumes (I keep a variety of tinned ones in the cupboard). Legumes are wonderful and filling, a good source of protein to bulk up stews and curries, and I have roasted chickpeas to make a crunchy topping for soups and salads. For dishes with an oriental flavour, I prefer to use tofu. If you are a vegetarian or simply prefer plant based dishes, you would have come across tofu regularly. In the UK, most supermarkets carry some in the chillers, some of the better known brands are Cauldron, Tofoo and Dragonfly. These tofu have various levels of firmness and are good for pan-frying and grilling. They have also branched out a bit and created some marinated versions. Personally I prefer the plain and smoked ones. Clearspring does very good silken tofu, which is very soft and delicate, perfect for adding to miso soup or even mashed into a Japanese style salad.
In my experience I find these brands are made for the UK market. I say this because the textures are very different to those sold in London Chinatown, such as Loon Fung and See Woo or bigger supermarkets like Wing Yip, which they have several locations around London, or those found in Japan Centre near Piccadilly Circus. Fresh tofu is kept in a box of water and they have a shorter use by date than those that are vacuum packed. I recommend cooking it soon after purchase to fully appreciate the taste.
The tofu that is commonly found in Hong Kong is handmade fresh from cooking the soy beans, everyday. In the traditional shops, workers cook and grind the soy beans, and follow their long passed down recipes to make a number of soy bean products: soft set tofu (great for tofu pudding), tofu puffs (they are deep fried with an airy interior, a key topping for Laksa noodle soup), firmer set tofu which will suit various ways of cooking, as well as fresh soy milk. This soy milk is not comparable to the ones we buy from the supermarkets. The fragrance and freshness of the soy beans sets them apart. This kind of shops can still be found in Hong Kong. They are generally run by families and often they have been around for a few generations. When I was little, Dad used to buy my sister and I some tofu puddings while he did a quick shop in the market. The tofu shop owners knew us well and they kept an eye on us, making sure we stayed in the shop. Sometimes we weren’t the only children there! Looking back, I had not come across anyone who didn’t like tofu. I liked my tofu pudding served hot and my sister liked it cold from the fridge, but we both agreed on adding spoonfuls of the rich yellow sugar topping. In Cantonese, we called these puddings, dau fu fah 豆腐花. In Shanghainese and Taiwanese style, the same plain fresh tofu is served with a covering of savoury toppings, spicy preserved vegetables, dried shrimps, spring onions, youtiao (Chinese fried dough sticks), soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Here in the UK, when I felt like a cold tofu dish on a hot summer’s day, I like to chill a block of Japanese silken tofu and top it with a dressing made with finely chopped spring onions, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, a little sugar, toasted sesame oil, a little light vegetable stock, chilli bean paste or crispy chilli in oil such as the Lao Gan Ma brand, from an online stockist, Sous Chef. If I fancy some crispy texture, a few roasted chopped peanuts, or a sprinkling of spicy sev, which is a popular Indian snack food consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flour, or standard Bombay Mix would do too.
Tofu is an excellent ingredient to cook with, it has a fantastic quality to absorb flavours in the dish, especially if the flavours you are aiming for are quite bold. I have adapted a recipe for mapo tofu in a completely vegan way. This is a dish with deeply savoury and spicy notes.
400g firm or medium firm tofu, cut into cubes
250g pack chestnut mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves (peeled and finely chopped)
3 spring onions, separate the white half from the top green part. Finely chop both and keep separate
1 level tablespoon chilli bean sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee’s Doubanjiang)
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppers (optional but it will add more heat and fragrance), grind into a powder
1 level tablespoon white miso paste, or Chinese yellow bean paste
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1.5 level teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Toasted sesame oil
Vegetable oil
180g ml water
– Boil water in a wok, enough to contain the tofu fully submerged. When the water is boiling, add the tofu cubes and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain well and set aside. This might be counter-intuitive but by blanching the tofu (to put into a sauce, not to pan fry), you actually help them to degorge, meaning to remove the excess water lodged in the fresh tofu. By doing this step they will absorb the marinade or sauces better when you cook it.
– Mix the sauce by adding in a bowl the spicy bean sauce, white miso paste, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, sugar, water and the cornstarch mixture. Mix well, ensuring no lumps remain.
– Heat up the wok, then add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, swirl it around. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook on high heat till they glisten (their natural moisture is cooked out in the heat) and add the white part of the spring onions, garlic and the ground Sichuan peppers if using, you might need to add a little more vegetable oil to ensure the ingredients cook evenly. Cook for 1 more minute, take care not to burn the aromatics.
– Add the prepared tofu cubes, most of the green part of the spring onions (reserve a sprinkle for final garnish) and the sauce mixture, gently mix well and cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes. The sauce should bubble a little and thicken. Switch off the heat, gently stir through a drizzle of toasted sesame oil then garnish with the remainder of the green spring onion. Serve with a side dish of stir fried vegetables and plain steamed rice.
Cooking with tofu is simple and delicious, by following a few know-hows, you can create many dishes. Why not try these entry level ideas and let me know how you get on?
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