Name: Neil Perry: Braised tofu, family-style, with black vinegar
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 braised shiitake mushrooms, sliced (see note); Small handful of pickled mustard greens, sliced (see note); Small handful pickled salted radish, sliced (see note); ½ knob of ginger, peeled and cut into julienne; 2 green onions, sliced; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (see note); 1 tbsp kecap manis; 1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (see note); 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp grated palm sugar; 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock; 300 gm firm tofu, sliced into 6 pieces; ½ Lebanese cucumber, finely sliced; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, roasted and ground

Neil Perry: Braised tofu, family-style, with black vinegar

Australian Gourmet Traveller Chinese banquet recipe for Neil Perry's braised tofu, family-style, with black vinegar.

Serves 4

Prep

25M

Cook

10M

Total

35M

Easy and delicious, the flavours of the pickles make it worth chasing them down. We used to sell loads of this at Wockpool in Sydney. This tofu is firmer than silken and easier to handle in stirfries, although this particular dish is really more like making a sauce and heating the tofu through. I love all the complex flavours here… very satisfying.

This recipe is from Neil Perry’s cookbook Balance and Harmony: Asian Food (Murdoch Books, $125, hbk).

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 braised shiitake mushrooms, sliced (see note)

Small handful of pickled mustard greens, sliced (see note)

Small handful pickled salted radish, sliced (see note)

½ knob of ginger, peeled and cut into julienne

2 green onions, sliced

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (see note)

1 tbsp kecap manis

1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (see note)

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp grated palm sugar

250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock

300 gm firm tofu, sliced into 6 pieces

½ Lebanese cucumber, finely sliced

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, roasted and ground

Method

Main

1.Heat the vegetable oil in a wok until just smoking. Add the mushrooms, mustard greens, radish, ginger and green onions and stirfry until fragrant (1-2 minutes), then deglaze the wok with the Shaoxing. Add the kecap manis, vinegar, soy sauce, palm sugar and stock. Check for balance, then add the tofu and reduce the heat to very low. Cover with a lid and braise for 4-5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a serving bowl, keeping the tofu intact. Top with the cucumber slices and sprinkle with the Sichuan pepper to serve.

Neil Perry uses braised shiitake mushrooms – the recipe is in his book or you can substitute with fresh shiitake mushrooms. Pickled mustard greens, pickled salted radish, Shaoxing wine and Chinkiang vinegar are available from Asian supermarkets.
Notes

Neil Perry

Styling by Sue Fairlie-Cuninghame