Spicy Broccoli and Beancurd

 

A rather interesting dish. Broccoli is not that popular in the country – people who live in the province outside big cities find the taste strange and unfamiliar, and another main deterrant is that it is pricey. When we do splurge on the green florets, we tried to do something interesting with it. A little bit of twist made it feels local. 

With the usual stir frying of the spices to bring up the wonderful flavor, they are first blended using mortal/pestle or food processor. 

Ingredients

300 gr broccoli

250 gr firm tofu 

2 cloves garlic

3 cloves shallot

½ medium sized tomato

¼ cup (30 gr) green chili – thai’s bird eye

1 cm ginger

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

2 tablespoons cooking oil  

2 tablespoons water

Instructions

• Wash broccoli under running water for 2 minutes and cut into bite –sized florets. Soak them with salted water in a bowl for 10 – 15 minutes (optional) 
• Into the bowl of food processor, add garlic, shallot, tomato, chili and ginger. Pulse until roughly chopped – about 5 seconds. Set aside. If the old method of mortal and pestle is used, pound away for 3 minutes or less.
• Cut tofu into cubes and fry in non-stick pan with a bit of oil. Brown all sides and pat dry with paper towel.
• Heat cooking oil in a wok. Fry the chopped ingredients till fragrant in medium heat – about 5 minutes. 
• Stir in broccoli and fried tofu. Season with soy sauce.  Mix well.
• Add water and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 
• Serve warm with steam rice or noodles.

Preparation : 5 min + additional soaking : 10 min

Cooking : 15 min

Serves 4

Note 

With the amount of green chili used, this is a fiery one. For milder taste, use less chili and one whole tomato instead. 

The water added at the end is for the steaming effect.

Tagged as: bean curd, broccoli, chili, spicy, stir fry, tofu