(As read and prepared by Alex Tuller for the January 26, 2006 podcast)
I really miss good Chinese food (as an NYC transplant) and this is no substitute. But it is still a tasty meal when you want something sort of like Chinese food.
1 container of firm Tofu, drained and cut into 3/4†cubes or something like that
1 head of broccoli, cut into little florets and stalks cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion sliced in half root to top and then sliced in strips
2 cloves garlic minced
1 big thumb sized piece of ginger outside stripped and minced
1 jalapeno minced (up to you on whether to keep or discard the seeds)
Vegetable oil/Peanut oil
2 big glugs (approx. Oyster Sauce
1 T Rice Wine Vinegar
Squirt of Chili paste/sauce
1 T Soy Sauce
1 T Vodka or Mystery alcohol
Cooked warm white or brown or sushi rice.
Boil pot of water and blanch the broccoli, approximately 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
On medium high, heat 1/8†of oil in the bottom of the wok. When it is just about smoking add several pieces of tofu and fry until crispy golden brown. Remove from wok and drain on paper towels. You will need to do this in batches so you don’t crowd the wok. Add oil as needed. When finished, clean wok of old oil.
Heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and stir fry until golden brown. Scoop from pan and add the garlic, ginger, jalapeno to the pan. You may need to add a touch of oil so it does not stick. Stir 30 seconds or less. Then add several big glugs of Oyster sauce, chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and alcohol stirring for a minute. Add the broccoli and onions to heat them up. Add the tofu at the very end just to heat through a little.
Serve with rice.