On tofu

You're eating it wrong.

In a previous newsletter, I mentioned that empty tofu boxes are the Asian Tupperware (I’d link it here, but I am lazy and this newsletter is free, but most importantly, I’m lazy). No Asian kid grows up thinking that tofu sucks. This is because of one huge difference in how we treat tofu to how the Western world treats tofu: it is an ingredient in its own right and not a replacement for meat.

It’s not true across the board for all Asian cuisines, but with Cantonese cooking, I struggle to think of a recipe where tofu isn’t paired with meat, floating in stock, stuffed with mashed seafood or enhanced with oyster sauce. We do not dry the poor brick of solidified soybean out in a pan, stick it between two pieces of bread with alfalfa and call it a meal. We don’t marinate it in a combination of disparate sauces in an attempt to inject it with flavour, fry it and put it on rice. We do not mash it up and saute it with turmeric and spinach and pretend it is breakfast. I’m sorry, all of that sounds truly awful.

In one of my first hospo jobs, I went to Hutong with the sous chef when it first opened (yes, I am old) on our day off and said I wanted to order mapo tofu. He was a very mild-mannered human with a very open mind but when I said the word tofu, he actually recoiled, said that he hated it and would not eat it. If you haven’t figured out the end of this story yet, my stubborn arse won this very tiny standoff and he ended up admitting the dish was delicious. Do you know why? Not only is mapo tofu made with meat, but the actual texture of the tofu adds another dimension and tempers the punchy fermented bean paste, chillies and oiliness of the dish. And, you know, it’s not dry as fuck.

Even cold slabs of silken tofu are adorned with century eggs, pork floss and a touch of vinegar. Pan-fried firm tofu is bathed in a minced pork and garlic chive gravy. Diced tofu is suspended in a goji leaf and pork loin herbal soup with ribbons of egg. Egg tofu is split in half, stuffed with mashed prawn, deep-fried, steamed and then topped with a chicken stock-based gravy. Fermented tofu becomes a rich base for a pork belly and potato stew. Each type of tofu has its specific application and is enjoyed for what it is, rather than being used for its protein content.

So what’s my point? Don’t trash talk tofu. It’s not because the brick of soybean wronged you, it’s because you wronged it. I’m even going to do something I never do and give you a recipe using fermented tofu because I want you to challenge yourself. I also can’t believe I’m giving you a recipe because Canto people don’t cook with measurements, we just season until our ancestors tell us to stop.

Gather:
1kg pork belly with a thick slab of fat and meat, cut into 2cm cubes
20-30g of rock sugar, depending on how sweet you like your food
3-4 cubes of red fermented bean curd and some of the jar liquid, this will depend on how much sugar you use and how funky you like your food
shaoxing wine, a generous splash, my god, use your nose and also taste- this ingredient actually balances the funk of the bean curd and also gives the dish some body
2 tbs dark soy (for colour, not so much flavour)
500g of starchy potatoes, cut around the same size as the pork belly

Salt a large pot of water and bring it to the boil. Add the pork belly to it and cook for a few minutes (literally a few, you’re blanching and getting rid of the scum). Take that entire pot to the (clean) sink and empty it out. Clean your pork belly and rinse off each piece. Get a wok, heat that bitch up and add some oil to coat the bottom of the wok, throw in the rock sugar and fermented bean curd with the liquid and cook until the sugar melts. Add the pork belly and the rest of the ingredients (not the potato), coat everything and then add enough water to cover. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pork belly is tender, add the potatoes and cook until they’re done. Obviously, if it looks dry, add some water. Try not to cook the potatoes down until you end up with a pot of glue- that’s not cute. What you’re aiming for is a gravy-like sauce that’s thickened by some of the starch from the potatoes. I know, there is no image. Pretend this is a Bake Off Technical Challenge. Eat this with rice. Yes, you’re going to be eating pork belly without crackling- another textural challenge! Stir-fry some greens to have on the side because, in the words of my father, no one wants to die of arse cancer. Welcome to my childhood.

What I’m reading:
I finally cracked and bought a bunch of cookbooks even though I said I would not buy any more cookbooks. Falastin has my attention at the moment, and it’s a good sign when you want to cook basically everything in it, isn’t it?

What I’m watching:
For excellent dialogue, a long-winded mystery, a few bombs, a fixation on justice and Rosario Dawson’s excellent bone structure, Briarpatch is great viewing. Better yet, the entire story is told in 10 episodes and there is no promise of a second season to ruin it.

What I’m eating:
I stuffed some sardines the other night with Rosa Mitchell in mind. It’s always good to have Rosa Mitchell in mind.

Wanna tell your friend how tofu doesn’t have to suck?

Does your annoying friend keep sending you my newsletters?