Deep Fried Bean Curd with Savoury Sauce

Just cooked this tonight and was a big hit! The ginger and sesame oil makes this dish so tasty. Try it!

Ingredients:
4 pcs. bean curd
1/8 kg. ground beef
2 small stalk spring onion
1/4 cup ginger
2 dried shitake mushrooms
2 oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup corn starch

Marinade:
1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil

Seasoning:
1/2 cup stock
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsps. soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

1. Cut bean curd into 4 thin layers. Dry with paper towels.
2. Soak mushrooms.
3. Using the marinade mixture, marinade the ground beef for 20 minutes
3. Mince the ginger, spring onions and mushrooms
4. Combine minced ingredients with ground beef.
5. Coat bean curd with corn starch.
6. With 4 tbsp. oil, fry the beef mixture until brown.
7. Fry bean curd until both sides are golden brown in the same pan you fried the beef.
8. Remove bean curd from pan and put the beef mixture on top
9. Return the bean curd with beef to the same pan. Add Seasoning and bring to a boil.
10. Dish up and serve.

Clay Pot Bean Curd

Got this recipe from the book Egg and Bean Curd. There are a number of really good recipes in this book and I've been trying each and everyone of them. One thing that I really enjoy about Chinese cooking is that you can easily modify the recipe to your liking and it still will give you your desired flavor.

For this recipe, make sure that you have a clay pot ready. It's amazing how cooking with this pot actually enhances the flavor of the dish!

Ingredients:
1 pack of fried bean curd (for Phil. residents, I was able to get this from SM Makati) or 1 long bean curd fried til golden brown
3 dried shitake mushrooms
1/2 carrot (I sometimes take this out... not really our favorite veggie)
4 pcs. chicken
2 stalks spring onion
4 pcs. dried oyster mushrooms
1/4 cup button mushrooms


Marinade:
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp of corn starch dissolved in 1/2 tbsp of water

Seasoning:
2 tbsps oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
pinch of pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tbsp of corn starch dissolved in 1/2 tbsp of water

1. Marinade chicken using the marinade mix for 30 minutes.
2. Soak shitake and oyster mushrooms until soft. Remove stem.
3. Boil carrot until done and slice.
4. Section spring onion
5. Heat 2 tbsps of oil. Stir fry shitake, oyster and button mushrooms. Add the chicken until it turns whittish. You can sprinkle some salt and pepper if you wish.
6. Add in carrot and Seasoning mixture.
7. Return bean curd to the wok and cook until the flavor of the sauce us absorbed.
8. When the sauce is reduced by half, pour the food into a claypot, add sectioned spring onion.
9. Reboil and serve with freshly cooked rice.

Note: You can also add vermicelli noodles but make sure there are double the amount of sauce. The noodles will absorb the sauce and will make the dish dry.

ENJOY!