Braised Claypot Tofu with Assorted Vegetables (红烧砂锅豆腐)
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Cantonese
Keyword: claypot tofu, tofu in broth, tze char tofu
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 20 minutesminutes
Total Time: 40 minutesminutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 261kcal
Author: Bee Leng | The Burning Kitchen
Who can resist a claypot full of Braised Claypot Tofu with Assorted Vegetables? Crispy tofu soaking up in a rich, flavourful broth of pork belly, mushrooms, sweet peas and capsicums. SO DELICIOUS! Learn the recipe today!
Wash the mushrooms and soak them in hot water for 15 mins. Once soften, cut away the stalk and half the mushrooms. Keep the mushroom water for later use.
Remove the skin from the ginger and wash. Slice it thinly.
Rinse the capsicum. Cut them into halves to remove the seeds and the stalk. Cut into 2 cm squares.
Remove the fibrous string from the sweet peas by tearing it from both ends. Rinse and set aside.
Cut the Roast Pork into 2 cm slices and set aside.
In a bowl, add in all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well and set aside
Open the canned button mushroom and discard the water. Rinse the mushrooms and cut into half if they are big. If not, just leave them as a whole.
Rinse the tofu and cut into 8 pieces.
Pat dry, then put 2 TBsp cornflour on a plate and coat the tofu before deep frying.
COOKING METHOD
In a wok, add 100 ml of oil and turn heat to high. Shake off the excess flour and slowly add the tofu in small batches to deep fry until golden brown. Transfer on a plate line with kitchen towel to drain off excess oil.
Pour the oil into a bowl leaving behind 2 TBsp in the wok. Turn on to medium heat. Add in the ginger to fry till fragrant.
Add in the roast pork and fry till fragrant. Then add in the Chinese mushrooms, button mushrooms, capsicum, sweet peas, and fry for about 5 mins.
Add in the water used to soak the mushrooms, the bowl of sauce and 1/2 tsp of salt to the mixture, then stir well.
Add in the deep fried tofu and stir gently to mix well. Be careful not to break the tofu while stirring.
Transfer to a claypot and let it simmer for about 10 mins or until boiling over medium low heat.
Serve in the claypot and garnish with parsley accompanied with a bowl of steaming hot rice.
Video
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
How do I choose Chinese mushrooms (dried shiitake mushrooms)Please refer to my guide here on how to choose Chinese mushrooms.How can I tell if the Chinese mushrooms are farmed or wild?Farmed mushrooms tend to have neatly cut stems, whereas wild mushrooms tend to have fuller stems. Wild mushrooms are usually more expensive.
COOKING TIPS
How do you ensure that the tofu is crispy after deep frying?
After slicing the tofu into pieces, pat dry them with kitchen towel until they feel really dry to the touch before cooking it otherwise the hot oil splatter all over the moment you drop the tofu into the oil.
To ensure that the tofu is thoroughly dry, coat the pieces with cornflour before frying. This is my 'magic powder' that helps to make the tofu crispy. I also use the same method when cooking crispy black pomfret, one of my very popular recipes on this blog.
How do I avoid oil splatters?
Use an oil splatter guard to help prevent the oil from splattering on your hand.