Braised tofu

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Press the tofu to drain it and pat it dry; dust it lightly with cornflour if you want insurance against sticking.
2. Heat the pan, add three tablespoons of oil and shallow-fry the slabs over medium heat until golden on both sides, without moving them until they release on their own. The TVB chef 許美德's rule: a hot pan, dry tofu, and leave it alone. Lift out.
3. In the same pan fry the garlic, ginger and mushrooms until fragrant; add the mince if using, break it up and fry until it loses its pink.
4. Add the oyster sauce, both soys, sugar and stock (or water), bring to the boil, slide the tofu back in, lid on, low heat five to eight minutes so it drinks the sauce.
5. Add the spring onion, thicken with the cornflour slurry, a last few drops of sesame oil, and serve.

Take care

• Contains soy (tofu, soy sauce) and wheat; oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster) unless the vegetarian sauce is used. Pork mince, if used, must be cooked through.

The story

Red-cooking is the soy braise the whole of China shares, and the Cantonese home version on tofu is the standby for the night the market was missed: a block of tofu from the corner tofu shop, a few mushrooms from the jar, a spoon of oyster sauce. In Hong Kong it is also the meatless dish of the family calendar, cooked without meat on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month.

Same technique

Braised beef brisket with white radishBraised chicken with dried shiitakeSoy sauce chicken

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.