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 used extra firm tofu because I wanted to make sure it held together in the sauce, but that’s just my preference.
The toban djan is the one absolutely critical thing in this recipe that you can not avoid. You’ll probably have to make a trip to an asian market or buy it online. This stuff works just fine.
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 extra firm tofu, pressed and cut in to half inch cubes
1 pound ground pork (or any other meat, apparently)
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 inches ginger, minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup chili bean paste (toban djan)
1 1/2 tablespoons chinese 5 spice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon chili sesame oil or chili crisp (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 