Occasionally I'll be able to trick my mind into thinking that I might just be good at cooking. After all, I write pretty frequently about it so one might hope to find some degree of authority within my voice. I'd even argue that it isn't necessarily a cogent metric to gauge how qualified one might be to run a blog, however I did just re-watch the film Arrival with my flatmates, so all Earthly issues have suddenly been relegated to a state of superficiality.
But, let's pretend that my own quibbles are as worthy of note as extraterrestrial linguistics. Occasionally, in my Earthbound kitchen, I'll come across something that makes me feel a little less versatile as a home cook. Last post it was pastry, this time around it is silken tofu. I think that the soft, silken variety is what we think of most as standard tofu, with a very melt-away texture. As a result, it can be pretty delicate to work with; handling it too strongly or even slicing it with a slightly blunted blade can cause it to develop small fractures. So, not exactly the ideal ingredient for my fumbling hands, but alas, there was a block of it in my cupboards and I was determined not to be defeated by it.
I wanted coat the tofu in a sauce that was flavoured with black pepper and Sichuan peppercorns (by the way, the recipe I'm doing today is called Two-Pepper Tofu with Mixed Vegetables) but would need a way to prevent it completely disintegrating in the wok; no one wants to eat vegetables flickered with shards of bean curd. The way forward was either to boil or deep fry before including within the main dish, and though contending with a pan full of hot oil might seem illogical as part of a strategy of removing hazards, cauterising the outer layer of the tofu seemed the most comfortable for me. Also, almost exclusively, fried foods taste better than boiled foods.
This kind of reflects human life. I like to think that, no matter who among us may try to trick ourselves otherwise, we're all innately fragile creatures and that's something to be embraced. We just need to find the coping method which suits us best; how do you go about metaphorically frying yourself in hot oil? It's pretty important now too to get to know your own vulnerable dimensions and which of them could be troubled by the events of late, namely staying at home for extended periods of time.
I think it's good to have something you can consistently work on in your spare time, but I also don't think that it should have anything to do with professional development. There's a very pervasive late-capitalist mentality, that has seeped into most of us as to an extent, that monetises time and fuels ghoulish productivity influencers to ask us to set ourselves a checklist of goals to complete during a time of slow-burning global trauma. It's fine if that's going to help you, but for many people (myself included) it feels all too much.
I don't want to position myself or my flatmates as paragons of coping, because we are quite decisively not, but I think we've all managed to pick up things that we can work on to help us get by. Owen has been trying to pick up some sign language, mainly from watching YouTube videos, and Rebecca has been doing a lot of embroidery recently; they've both been trying to learn how to play the harmonica too. I think I'm going about this on a slightly smaller scale through keeping up with the blog and doing engraving art kits (they might be for children?). However, I want to emphasise that you don't need to come out the other end with a new skill or anything, just something that allows you to spend a moderate amount of time on it. I want to recommend the engraving art kits because they are just that low key and require zero skill.
Back to the tofu; does it require skill? I still don't think it's particularly relevant. I've always resisted describing what I do here as being skilled because I think that makes it a whole lot more accessible. I feel if anything, gradually building up knowledge and familiarity around food and cooking is more useful than having specific techniques; you could just Google them, maybe? These are murky waters that I don't want to wade into, but I'm going to take two things from it; that I should try things that make me uncomfortable, but not concern myself too highly with how versatile I am as a cook. I'm not going to get stopped on the street and asked to demonstrate how to poach an egg (I would not pass this test), so why act as if I wouldn't need to look up how to do it beforehand. If you know why you're poaching that egg, then I think you're all set!
So, a note on the actual recipe! As you may have gleaned, it is peppery. This is the first time that I've used peppercorns not as a seasoning but as a primary flavour. Don't worry though, if you've ever bitten into a peppercorn and received a gunpowder burst that nestles at the very back of your tongue and refuses to leave, it isn't like that at all. It's still mellow enough, with the black peppercorns providing a consistent warmth, and those from Sichuan giving a very slightly numbing tingle. This is all melded together with a very savoury backdrop. If you want to add the pepper gradually and taste as you go, I'll understand and even perhaps recommend this course of action!
Two-Pepper Tofu with Mixed Vegetables
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 3-4 people
Ingredients
1 block of silken tofu (approx. 350g)
2 medium carrots, cut into thin diagonal slices
200g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 a white onion, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 stalk of celery, cut into thin strips
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
2 red chilies, thinly sliced
200ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp chinkiang vinegar
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp sugar
Vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
Method
Remove the block of tofu from the packaging and let it sit on a plate for 30 minutes. While it is sitting, prepare the vegetables as specified in the ingredients list.
Once it has done sitting, tip any liquid that had seeped from the tofu off of the plate. This is to stop it from sizzling too violently when fried. Cut your tofu into 12-14 pieces, by slicing it in half down the length of the block and slicing each half 6-7 times. If possible, use a lightweight, sharp knife for this and cut in one clean motion to prevent breakages (as you can see from the picture, I did not do this perfectly so don't worry if you do get a few imperfect chunks).
In a large wok or saucepan, pour in enough vegetable oil (the amount will vary depending on the pan) to cover the tofu and bring it to a high heat. Check it has come to temperature by cutting a tiny amount of tofu from one of the chunks and placing it in the oil. If it sizzles then the oil is ready. Lower each chunk into the oil one by one and allow to fry for 3-4 minutes. You can fry multiple chunks at once but take care not to crowd the pan. Remove the tofu when finished with a spatula and shake some of the oil off, before letting it sit on kitchen towel or baking parchment.
Pour the excess oil into a heatproof container and leave this to cool. As tofu is largely flavourless, this oil can be cooled, strained and re-used. Rinse out the wok with hot, soapy water until the oily residue has gone.
Add one tbsp of vegetable oil, swirl around the wok and place over a medium high heat. When the wok has come to temperature, add the white onion and celery and saute for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Turn the wok down to a medium heat and add the garlic, ginger and red chilli, and stir in for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and the bell pepper, and turn back up to a medium-high heat and saute for 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and a 1/4 tsp of salt before sauteing for a further 2 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable stock, soy sauce, vinegar, ground black and Sichuan peppercorns and stir through with the vegetables. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and the sugar and bring the mixture to boil on a high heat. Once this has come to a boil, turn down to a medium-low heat and simmer for 2 minutes. After this has finished simmering, taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
In a small bowl, take 3 tbsps of the cooking liquid and stir it into 1 tbsp of rice flour until it has combined completely. Pour this mixture into the wok and stir it in completely. This will thicken the cooking sauce slightly. Turn the heat up to medium, and add in the spring onions, stirring them into the sauce.
Using a spatula (ideally silicone) fold in the tofu chunks, taking care not to break them. You may wish to carefully slice each chunk in half before adding them in (I did) as this makes it easier for them not to bend and break up. Once they have been folded into the mixture, keep on the heat for a further two minutes before taking the wok off of the stove.
Serve with rice, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and some extra spring onion greens or a scattering of red pepper flakes if desired (and available).
Notes & Adjustments
This would also work with equal quantities of firm tofu. If you use the firm variety, you'll need to press it for half an hour. You can do this by laying sheets of kitchen towel both above and beneath the block and using laying a weight on top of it (I find a hardcover cookbook to be a good weight to do this - I wouldn't use anything that's much heavier). Instead of deep frying, I would shallow fry the tofu for 2 minutes on either side before stirring in at the end.
The 'mixed vegetables' are wholly negotiable. Aubergine goes brilliantly with black pepper if you wanted to use it. I would probably steer clear of leafy vegetables like pak choi or spinach, but you're welcome to try just in case my instincts do deceive me. On this same note, the colour of the bell pepper really doesn't matter; some people are very against green bell peppers, but it was what I had around so that's what I used.
This would probably be good with a tsp of sesame oil stirred in at the same stage as the spring onions, however I did not have any at the time so I can only leave it as a firm recommendation!
If you don't have chiankiang vinegar, you could use 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar mixed with soy sauce. If you don't have balsamic vinegar, then pretty much any other vinegar will work!
Any type of mushroom is fine to be used here.
If you can't find Sichuan peppercorns, then just leave them out and add an extra 1/2 tsp of black peppercorns. You could also substitute it for a 1/4 tsp of mace. My local Tesco sells both Sichuan peppercorns and mace in the spice section, so hopefully you'll have no trouble with locating it!
Rice flour can be substituted for cornflour, or any flour that is commonly used for thickening sauces.
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