video password: SYDD [case sensitive]
veggie sang choi bau
serves 2
One of my friends is from Texas. He is convinced that Sang Choi Bau is the perfect food because you could live on it alone, if you had to.
He does have a point. The combination of richly sauced meat with crunchy water chestnuts wrapped in a crisp, refreshing lettuce leaf parcel is hard to beat.
The recipe below yields two moderately sized servings. If you’re feeding a particularly hungry vegetarian, it might be a good idea to double the recipe.
350g (3/4lb) firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 can water chestnuts (225g / 8oz), drained
4 – 6 tablespoons hoisin or vegetarian oyster sauce
1 – 2 small red chillies, sliced
6 leaves iceberg lettuce, washed
1. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet.
2. Cook the tofu and water chestnuts, stirring frequently until browned and cooked through.
3. Add chilli and hoisin or veggie oyster sauce. Cook until everything is hot.
4. Taste and season.
5. Serve hot tofu in a bowl with lettuce leaves for wrapping on the side.
variations for dietary requirements:
carnivores – Replace tofu with ground (minced) beef, pork or chicken. And you could replace the hoisin with oyster sauce, either is fine.
tiny person friendly – serve the chopped chilli at the table for everyone to add their own. For more family-friendly ideas see my other blog, theyellowbench.com
troubleshooting guide:
too bland – Add more salt & pepper and more hoisin.
tofu sticking to the bottom of the pan? – Reduce heat a little and stir vigorously. Adding the sauce should help the situation, if not, add a tablespoon or 2 of water to help get the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
too salty? – Add a little water to dilute or possibly a pinch of sugar to balance the saltiness.
trouble finding water chestnuts? – Replace with a generous handful of nuts. Roasted cashews work really well.
reheating potential:
Excellent. Just reheat the tofu mixture in a frying pan over a medium heat.
related links:
on stonesoup: Toe-food: A beginners guide to tofu.
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