The World in Your Kitchen 2010 Calendar – China

Wow, it’s been a busy time. Everytime I wanted to make this dish there was something that came up. Either dinner plans, studying or just plain lazyness.   So today I decided to not put it off any longer. This is supposed to be the February recipe from my calendar…. oh well, better late than never I guess.

This recipe is for Bei gu su or Tofu with vegetables. It’s a super easy stir fry! Literally, took about 20 minutes to prep and then about 10 minutes to cook, I think if you prep ahead of time you can have dinner ready in 10 minutes. And who doesn’t love that?

Bei Gu Su

1lb firm tofu, cubed
1/2 lb. snow peas
1 carrot, julienne cut
1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely sliced
4 scallions, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1 tbsp. rice wine or ginger (optional)
2 tbsp. stock or water
1 tsp. cornstarch
oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat some oil in a wok and fry the tofu until it is golden.
2. Carefully pour off any excess oil and then add the snowpeas, carrot, musrooms, 3 scallions and the ginger.  Stir-fry briskly for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle on the sauce and rice wine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour on the stock or water and continue to cook.  Mix the cornstarch with a little cold water to make a paste and then pour this into the pan, stirring to distribute it.  Garnish with the remaining scallion. Serve with omelet and rice or noodles.

Verdict and Notes:
To be completely honest I didn’t really try to make any substitutions and I really didn’t have to. All of the ingredients were very easy to find, even in Winnipeg. It was such a simple recipe that I think I will make it a staple meal.  The only thing I did use different was the oyster sauce, I used the real thing instead of the vegetarian kind but that’s only because I’m not a vegetarian.   I had the stir fry with some rice (but of course) and sprinkled some furikake on it. Yes, I know furikake is japanese but it really seemed to go with this. So go ahead, try it, and take your taste buds to China.

Quote to share: “Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.”
- Chinese Proverb