Chinese · Lunch · Dinner
Home-Style Braised Tofu
家常豆腐 (Jiāchángdòufu)
Golden pan-seared tofu slices braised in a savoury, gently spicy chilli bean sauce with lean pork, crunchy wood ear mushrooms and sweet peppers. A comforting Sichuan-style home classic made with less oil and plenty of vegetables.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 25% · Fat 44% · Protein 31%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 1 block (500 g)firm tofu
- 150 glean pork loin, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup10 gdried wood ear mushrooms
- 2 cups480 ghot water for soaking mushrooms (discarded)
- 1 medium150 gred bell pepper
- 1 medium150 ggreen bell pepper
- 1 small60 gcarrot
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic
- 1 thumb-sized piece10 gfresh ginger
- 3 stalks45 gscallions
- 1 1/2 tbsp27 gchilli bean paste (doubanjiang)
- 1 1/2 tbsp24 greduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp15 gShaoxing rice wine
- 1 tspsugar
- 1 tbsp8 gcornstarch
- 2/3 cup150 gwater for sauce and slurry
- 1 1/2 tbsp20 gvegetable oil
Steps
- 1
Cover the dried wood ear mushrooms with the hot soaking water and leave for 20 minutes.
- 2
Pat the tofu dry and cut it into triangles or rectangles about 1 cm thick.
- 3
Toss the pork slices with 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, the Shaoxing wine and 1 tsp of the cornstarch; set aside.
- 4
Cut the peppers into bite-sized pieces and slice the carrot thinly on the diagonal.
- 5
Mince the garlic and ginger; cut the scallions into 3 cm lengths, keeping whites and greens separate.
- 6
Drain the wood ears, discard the soaking water, rinse, trim any hard bits and tear into pieces.
- 7
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- 8
Sear the tofu in a single layer for 3 minutes per side until golden, then move to a plate.
- 9
Add the remaining oil and stir-fry the pork for 2-3 minutes until it is no longer pink and cooked through to 63 °C / 145 °F.
- 10
Lower the heat, add the chilli bean paste and stir for 30 seconds until the oil turns red.
- 11
Add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 12
Add the carrot and wood ears and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- 13
Return the tofu to the pan, add the remaining soy sauce, the sugar and 120 ml of the water.
- 14
Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes so the tofu absorbs the sauce.
- 15
Add the bell peppers and cook uncovered for 2 minutes until just tender-crisp.
- 16
Mix the remaining cornstarch with the last 30 ml of water, stir it in and simmer for 1 minute until the sauce turns glossy.
- 17
Scatter over the scallion greens and serve hot.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Replace the pork with extra rehydrated shiitake mushrooms for a vegetarian version, and choose a doubanjiang labelled vegan if you want it fully plant-based.
- Use tamari labelled gluten-free instead of soy sauce, dry sherry labelled gluten-free instead of Shaoxing wine, and a chilli bean paste labelled gluten-free to make the dish gluten-free.
- Swap the pork loin for thinly sliced chicken breast, cooked through to 74 °C / 165 °F.
- Use fresh shiitake or button mushrooms if you can't find dried wood ear mushrooms.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot. Freezing isn't recommended because the tofu turns spongy and the peppers go soft.
Make ahead
Soak and trim the wood ears, slice the vegetables and marinate the pork up to a day ahead, keeping everything covered in the fridge. Sear and braise just before serving for the best texture.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: SoyGlutenSulphites
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (453 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 275 kcal | 61 kcal |
| Protein | 22 g | 4.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17.5 g | 3.9 g |
| of which sugars | 5.3 g | 1.2 g |
| Fiber | 5.2 g | 1.1 g |
| Fat | 14 g | 3.1 g |
| of which saturated | 2.2 g | 0.5 g |
| Sodium | 485 mg | 107 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
