Sha Cha Tofu W Green Beans And Onions Recipes

Steps:

• At least a day before preparing, drain tofu and wrap each block in 2 paper towels. Place them in a zippered bag side by side, with a weight on top of them. I used an unopened half gallon carton of OJ laid on its side. Over the course of the 24 hours, I discarded the wet paper towels and re-wrapped the blocks of tofu 4 times. The last paper towels were only damp when I discarded them.
• Cut the brick of tofu once along each of its two longer faces, splitting each face in half. Then cut the largest face five times (perpendicular to your first cut on that face). You should yield 20 blocks from each brick.
• Heat a pot of oil or preheat your deep fryer to 400°.
• While your oil is heating, slice onions into 1/4" thick half rounds, and in a bowl combine the sha cha sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar & salt. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. NOTE: The sha cha sauce I use settles in the jar, so I must stir it before measuring to have a consistent sauce.
• Heat your wok and add your oil. Depending on how hot your wok is, and how quickly you can add all the ingredients in the next step, you may want to vary the order in which you add them. At the same time, in your deep fryer, begin deep frying the blocks of tofu.
• In the wok - add the garlic, onion then red pepper. If the oil is too hot or if I don't think I can get to the onions quickly enough, I add the onions first. The reason being that the garlic burns very quickly in very hot oil and ruins the dish once it burns, but the quick addition of the onions will lower the temperature enough as not to burn the garlic. So, add those ingredients according to your situation. Adding the red pepper first to hot oil may create a smoke that will close off your air passageways. Don't ask me how I know this. Suffice it to say that the last time it happened, people arriving at my house and walking up the driveway were gasping for air once the smoke hit them. It was far worse in the kitchen.
• Stir the onion/garlic/pepper mixture. Remember to check in on the tofu and shake the basket of tofu so that the blocks don't stick together while frying.
• Once the onions begin to become translucent (after 5 minutes or so), add the frozen green beans and water. Cover and steam for 2-4 minutes.
• Ideally, the tofu will be a light golden color by the time your beans have steamed for a couple of minutes. Remove the tofu from the deep fryer and shake off the excess oil.
• Add the deep fried tofu to the wok, along with the mixture of sha cha & soy sauces.
• Toss to mix and coat. Cook for a minute or two to heat the sauce. Serve over rice (optional). Without the rice, this dish would serve 3-4, not the 6 listed.

Steps:

• Halve tofu lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and pat dry well. Put 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a wide shallow dish, then add tofu, turning to coat, and let stand 10 minutes. Pat tofu dry.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then add tofu in 1 layer and cook, turning over once, until tofu is browned, about 6 minutes total. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large plate, reserving oil in skillet.
• Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to skillet and sauté, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans, bell pepper, and salt and sauté, stirring, 1 minute.
• Stir in coconut milk and remaining tablespoon soy sauce and bring to a boil, then boil, uncovered, until beans are tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer vegetables using a slotted spoon to plate with tofu.
• Simmer sauce until thickened slightly and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice and pour sauce over vegetables and tofu. Sprinkle with cashews.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a baking dish or casserole, whisk together the chile crisp, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, scallions and cilantro.
• Add the tofu slices to the dish, and coat them with the sauce, then allow to marinate for as long as it takes to heat the oven and trim the green beans.
• Add the green beans to a large sheet pan, then drizzle the neutral oil on top and toss to coat. Slide the green beans to the sides of the pan, and arrange the slices of tofu in an even layer in the center of the pan. Pour remaining marinade over the tofu, and place in oven.
• Roast until the green beans start to blister, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately with rice and extra chile crisp on the side.