Cooking healthy Chinese food at home is easy and if you are in China then it’s painless. No running to Chinatown or finding an Asian store in your hometown. We all miss the foods and customs of our country but given the kitchen restrictions you might find here having a couple of delicious Chinese recipes up your sleeve is not a bad idea.
There are a myriad of books out there, at the moment my favorite book is Fuchsia Dunlop’s Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking. Fuchsia is probably the most knowledgeable food writer about the Middle Kingdom’s gastronomy. Her memoir Shark’s fin and Sichuan Pepper is now legendary for any self-respecting Chinese foodie. For those us trying to learn Mandarin, her home cooking book is unusual since it gives you the Chinese characters and pinyin (phonetic) for all the basic everyday ingredients so you can practice your conversational skills while you shop. Her recipes are nutritious and use a variety of cooking methods. After 2 months of cooking out of her book my favorites are Zhaijiang noodles, salted duck egg and winter melon soup, sour and hot mushroom soup and smoked tofu with celery and peanuts.
The last recipe is so practical since you only need celery, a packet of smoked tofu, roasted peanuts and chili oil. This type of tofu has a wonderful taste reminiscent of smoked gouda, the peanuts with their sweet crunchiness make a nice contrast.
Give it a try !
Smoked Tofu with Celery and Peanuts
from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop
Serves 4 as a Starter
- 3 1/2 ounces smoked or spiced firm tofu
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 ounce Fried or Roasted Peanuts
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili oil with 1/2 tablespoon of its sediment, to taste
- Good pinch of sugar
- Salt, to taste
Cut the tofu into 3/8-inch cubes. De-string the celery stalks, cut them lengthways into 3/8-inch strips, then into small pieces to match the tofu. Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan, add the celery and blanch for 30 to60 seconds; it should remain a little crunchy. Remove to a colander and cool immediately under the cold tap, then shake dry.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve.
4 replies on “Smoked Tofu with Celery and Peanuts”
This is such a simple recipe & it sounds yummy. We might even smoke our own tofu !!
This sounds like something I could make! Sounds yummy, I’ll have to give it a try.
can i get smoked tofu at mitsuwa?
when we were in the cotswolds last month i saw a bin of smoked fresh garlic heads at an outdoor market. i seriously considered bringing some back in my suitcase but then i came to my senses and realized this would be even stinkier than attempting to transport french cheese (another story).
first the smoked garlic and now the mention of smoked tofu… perhaps it’s time to invest in a proper smoker?!
Amaris you can get smoked tofu in Chinatown in Chicago and probably even Whole Foods.
A smoker is on my wish list. In Alambique we had a Demeyere one and I always regret not getting it.
Check out the book Asian Tofu for some ideas about making tofu and smoking it.