Soybean Sprouts and Dried Tofu Stir-fry
 |
Tofu is soybean curd made by coagulating hot fresh soy milk. It can be further processed to produce dried tofu and fermented tofu. The byproduct of boiling soy milk is a film or “skin” that forms over the surface is used to make dried yellowish sheets that can be used as a wrapper for vegetables and meats. These skins can also be bunched up to create “stick” and are normally used in soups.
Tofu is indispensable in Asian cuisine and has become very popular in the West. As it has very little flavor of its own, it is a great addition to soups, casseroles, stir-fries, and even desserts. It absorbs whatever flavor is added to it. Tofu is also a great source of protein and is a staple in vegetarian cuisine.
I really enjoy tofu and use it almost daily in some form or other in my cooking. Recently, the Asian grocery store that I go to regularly started selling dried tofu. Though I am familiar with koyadofu which is Japanese freeze dried tofu, this dried tofu is new to me. I have probably eaten it many times in vegetarian dishes but have never used it in my own cooking. They come in three forms, strips, balls, and slices. These are really handy to have in the pantry as it stores well and can be easily reconstituted by soaking them in hot water. They have the firmness of fully cooked meat and is especially good in braised dishes.
Note: Soybean sprouts are different from mung bean sprouts. They are sprouted from soybeans are are bigger and firmer than the more popular mung bean sprouts. You can use mung bean sprouts if you prefer.
Soybean Sprouts and Dried Tofu Stir-fry
1½ lb soybean sprout, rinsed and drained (trimmed if preferred)
2 oz dried tofu or 4 oz deep fried tofu
1 red chili, deseeded and sliced
1 green chili, deseeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
salt to taste
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
Rehydrate dried tofu in a bowl with 2 cups hot water for 15 – 20 minutes. Drain and slice tofu into ¼ inch strips. If using deep fried tofu, soak in hot water for a few minutes to remove excess oil. Drain and cut into slices about ¼ inch thick.
In a wok, heat sesame oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant. Add red and green chilies and tofu and fry for about a minute. Add soybean sprouts, soy sauce and salt. Stir-fry for another 3 minutes on high heat. Remove, garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately. Great with a bowl of rice.
Announcement
I have a new comment system installed! I thank you all for your comments and hope you will continue to provide me with your much appreciated feedback.
And now, I would like to acknowledge these wonderful foodie friends who have so kindly pass these lovely awards to me. This is a little late but better late than never.
I would like to thank Rumana at Spice Ur Senses for these two lovely awards…..
…..and LeQuan at luvtoeat and Denise at Quickies on the Dinner Table for this happy award. I am honored and touched! I hope you will take time to visit their amazing blogs.
For the Honest Scrap and Happy 101 Award,
Here are the rules:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.
10 things that make me happy
1. My faith.
2. My family.
3. Knowing that the three men in my life are safe, healthy, well fed, and contented.
4. Good friends.
5. Good food.
6. Sharing foodie talk with all you foodies out there.
7. Clean house.
8. Empty laundry basket.
9. Bright, sunny days.
10. Cooking and dreaming up of recipes, of course!
Here are the bloggers I am passing this award to:
Scott at Fight the Fat Foodie
Casey at Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria
Rick at Bittersweet
Cherine at Chicho’s Kitchen
Gulmohar and Nostalgia at Collaborative Curry
Kamalika at Silence Sings
Gwen at Bunkycooks
Nancy at Spicie Foodie
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day!
My other blog
Tags: Chinese, gluten-free, side dish, stir-fry, vegan, vegetarian
Congrats with the awards! Love your recipe with all the sesame!
Thanks Pam!
Yummy stir-fry, I need to try these soybean sprouts soon! Congrats on your new comment system!!!
Congrats on your awards, Biren!! Thats a colorful and yummy stirfry..
Thank you for the award! You are so sweet! So is that tofu!
YUM! That looks so good. I'm going to look for dried tofu the next time I'm at Nijiya.
Congrats on the awards.
Thanks and I hope you will give the soybean sprouts a try. Thank you also for your advice. Much appreciated
Thanks!
You are most welcomed Rick! That tofu is really good
I like the chewy texture of the dried tofu. It is also very convenient to have in the pantry. Thank you.
Hi Biren! Congrats on your awards and thank you for passing them on to me! I enjoy reading your posts and love to receive your comments on my blog (through FB).
Have a great day!
excellent !!! congrats on your awards and thanks a ton for thinking about us
Congrats on your awards Biren! You're definitely well deserving of them. I liked reading your list of 10. And I especially liked #'s 7 and 8…teehee.
Hmmm, I don't think I've tried the dried tofu before. Will look for them next time I pick up some tofu. Your dish looks and sounds great. This is a perfect healthy dish for my kiddies, minus the chili.
I love bean sprouts….this stir-fry looks so appetizing.
Congratulations Biren!
This stir fry looks so incredibly good to me right now. It's dinner time here, and I'm starved. You know. your tofu looks like tempeh to me. Maybe not??
Dear Biren, First of all congrats on ur awards….and secondly thanks a ton for sharing the awards with us…thats really very sweet of u….i too love ur blog as well….
I never knew about dried tofu…this is one of the reasons behind why I love your blog…always u introduce ur readers with somthing knew and creative…the dish looks grt…..take care and have a nice day…
I will figure it out and hopefully comment at your blog soon
You are very welcomed
Thanks LeQuan! Well, laundry is my least favorite of chores. I have yet to come across someone who loves to do ironing
The dried tofu is great as it can be stored in the pantry. I also love its chewy texture.
I buy bean sprouts every week. Great in stir-fries and fried noodles
Thanks Stella! It's not tempeh but a kind of meat substitute. It's made of soy and has a chewy texture.
You are most welcomed Kamalika. I appreciate your comments
Congrats on the awards. Love the stir fry. The tofu on the other hand, not for me although it does look beautiful! I use this comment system as well. Works perfectly!
Congrats on the awards Biren
Boy, I tell you, it really is getting to be like Oscar night around here LOLOL And I don't think it's about to end any time soon!
This dish is what I would call Asian soul food. Simple, wholesome, nothing fancy but boy, if you're Asian, missing home, somewhere far away and all alone, the sight of something like this will probably make you cry *sniffle*
Hello Biren,
This stir fry looks very tasty, i have never eaten dry tofu, but this look it self my mouth is watering. Now i'll start hunting for dry tofu:-) lovely dish thanks for sharing..
Congratulations for your award!
Awesome. Nice, clean and simple
Hi Biren…that is a delicious veggie dish. My favourites in one dish
and congrats for your award. Keep them coming:)
Congrats on your well-deserved award, Biren! =) I'm not familiar using tofu, but I know it's high in protein and "good for you" I do need to try it.
Have a great weekend!
Congrats on your awards! Keep blogging
Dried tofu is new to me but your dish looks very dish. Would be lovely with rice.
Hello Biren,
I love your blog!!
Congrats on ur awards, you deserve them!!!….and thank you for the award, that's too sweet
Congrats on your awards. I love beancurd and tofu and like your dish very much, so delicious and healthy!
This recipe looks great! I am loving tofu lately. Congratulations on the awards. I really appreciate you sharing the award with me. Thank you!!!
Hy Biren,
Congrats on your well deserved awards…My heartiest wishes for many more success in blogging dear.
I love tofu but I have to say those tofu puffs are not my favorite.
I'm not sure if I know what those are…is it the same for what's used to make inari?
Hi Jen! Glad to see you back
These are more like a meat substitute and is more dense. It has to be reconstituted by soaking in hot water. The tofu pockets used for inari are deep fried, lighter in texture, and need not be reconstituted.
Thanks! I do like this comment system as it gives me the ability to respond to each comment. So far it is working well
Thanks Denise! I don't know about the Oscars but it is quite a parade! LOL!
I like the way you put it – Asian soul food. I buy bean sprouts every week, the mung bean ones for noodles and this soybean ones for stir-fry. I know it is a lot of work but I like to trim them. They taste so much better. Do you trim yours?
Hi Rumana! You can also used deep fried tofu if you can't find this dried tofu.
Thanks and thanks for visiting!
Thanks Elin and thanks for visiting! Yes, some of my favorites in there as well. We do eat a lot of tofu.
Thanks Cristina! Yes, tofu is not only "good for you", it is also delicious. We do eat a lot of tofu.
Thanks Mary! I love tofu and have it almost daily. Dried tofu is very "meat" like. You may have tasted it without realizing it is tofu. You can always use deep fried tofu for this dish.
Thanks Cherine and you are most welcomed. I love your blog too! You have inspired me to try Middle Eastern food and I am really enjoying it.
Thanks Ann! Yes, beancurd and tofu are delicious! I try include a little of it in my cooking each day.
congrats on d awards..and yummy n inviting stir fry!
Tofu is healthy and delicious and we eat a lot of it. Always have some form of it at home. Thanks and you are most welcomed
Thanks Jay!
You can always use fresh tofu. Just lightly pan fry it so that it will hold up better when mixed with the bean sprouts.
Thanks Subhie!
Wow Thanks Biren!!! and congrats to all the other winners too:)
Wonderful tofu dish. I will be posting a tofu dish on Sunday…seems like we are on the same wavelength. Congrats on the awards, I'm sure you have many more to come. Cheers!
Congrats on the award! The dried tofu looks delicious!
Congrats on your awrds!! stir fried looks good…We use tofu in our house too, never seen dried tofu..
That is one of the most delicious stir-fry's I've ever seen! Very tempting! I never had dry tofu before. Congrats on all your well-deserved awards.
Sounds new to me! Looks so so tempting!
You are most welcomed Nancy
I love tofu. Looking forward to your post. Thanks!
Thank you
Thanks! Tofu is delicious and I am really glad you like it too. Dried tofu is a really handy pantry item.
Thanks Reeni!
It is vegetarian and really handy to have in the pantry.
Thanks Penny! I cook this quite often as it is easy and simple
I bought 2 packets of kouya tofu on my last trip to Japan, after trying it for the first time at a temple in Koyasan. It's summer in Australia right now but I might give this recipe a go anyway.
Cheers
Hi, thanks for visiting
Koya dofu is different from dried tofu but I don't see why it would not work. I do enjoy koya and must get some stock of it soon. Hope you enjoy the dish.
Hello there!
Can you help me with a doubt? (well actually two)
Is it possible to make ague dashi tofu with kouya tofu? Would it be less "watery" than the normal/fresh one?
And.. to make the crumbs.. I´ve always seen mom using fresh tofu to make crumbs to add to fish nuggets. In the case of the kouya tofu, would I crumble it "dry"?
Arigatou!
[...] Frying bean sprouts with shrimps and chilies is pretty classic. I added sweet potatoes noodles to bulk it up. The green onions are to give it an additional pop of color. Sometimes I use Chinese chives instead. For a vegan version, check out Soybean Sprouts and Dried Tofu Stir-fry. [...]