Ingredients
24 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 small onion, thinly sliced
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 medium green bell peppers, thinly - sliced
1 tbsp sake or white wine
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 - tb wate, r
Directions
Cut tofu crosswise into pieces the shape of French-fried potatoes.
Heat a wok, coat with oil & sprinkle on the salt. Add onion, then the
mushrooms, stir frying each over high heat for about 30 seconds.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add carrot, green pepper & tofu in that
order, sauteeing each for about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low & add
sake, soy sauce, ginger, sugar & water. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in dissolved cornstarch & simmer 30 seconds for another
30 seconds.
Shurtleff & Aoyagi, "The Book of Tofu"
Servings: 4 servings
Chinese Style Sauteed Firm Tofu Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Chinese; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Food historians have found proof that recipes existed back into distant history, certainly as far back as the Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, sadly, these old cook books were just simple hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing meals.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe found, according to experts in ancient history is a collection of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `blissful`. Later on, in Roman times 25BC a man called Apicius compiled some documents describing recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he tells us how the meals were divided into appetizers, main meal and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius informs us how the Roman cooks used a good variety of aromatic flavours, including many that are still in use today such as bay, rue and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we have two interesting books from the fourteenth century - a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these two books are unconnected to the curry that appears on menues today, but rather recipes for the types of meals enjoyed by the rich and powerful of the time. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many foods, spices and herbs from the Middle-East, including coriander, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes led to an eruption in manuscripts on food, some of which still exist in private collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe competed with each other to serve the best banquets, and as a result the best cooks and their recipes increased in prestige. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe publications really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the arrival of the 1900s, recipe books were in high demand, due to increased literacy, more leisure time and a general increase in wealth. Like it or not, the introduction of television brought us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, permitting everyone to access thousands of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chinese Style Sauteed Firm Tofu recipe.
