This is a traditional chinese dish that I had once and really liked, so I decided to take a stab at it. Came out great! And it even has tofu! WTF. Nobody is more confused than I am.
I should mention that the vegetables were my own addition because I liked them. Totally optional, but if you leave the vegetables off, you can reduce the sauce by a third.
Ingredients
2 pounds tofu, cut in to half inch cubes
1 pound ground pork (or any other meat, apparently)
8 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed)
3 inches ginger, minced (or pressed)
6 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons chili bean paste/tobun djan
1 1/2 tablespoons chinese 5 spice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon chili sesame oil (optional)
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 tablespoons water (or leftover chicken broth)
1 can baby corn
2 cans bamboo shoots
Directions
Mix together the soy sauce, bean paste, 5 spice, chicken broth, and hot sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
Brown the pork in a pot with some oil. Once it’s cooked, add in the the garlic and ginger and stir fry for a few minutes. Literally 2 or 3.
Add the sauce, corn, bamboo shoots, and cubed tofu and bring to a boil. Add the (well mixed) corn starch mixture, and stir gently (to keep the tofu from breaking up)(I mean, it’s going to break up some, but try to keep it to a minimum) until the sauce thickens.
And honestly that’s it. This really is a delicious one pot meal. Serve with rice or by itself. Once you let it sit, the tofu and vegetables will absorb the sauce so there won’t be a ton of it left in the pot.
eatbensmeat 