This is a super simple recipe, which basically consists of chopping up the veggies and tofu, stirfrying the veggies, whisking the sauce together, and adding the tofu and the sauce to the pan to cook. I add up to a teaspoon, a quarter teaspoon at a time and I taste the sauce immediately after adding. Salt: This recipe really benefits from being well-salted to taste. Sugar: A little sugar perfectly balances the flavors here, so don’t omit it. Note that cornflour is a UK and Ireland term, it’s called cornstarch in the US and is a white fine powder for thickening. If you don’t have any cornflour, then tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, potato starch, or rice flour can be used (but you’ll need to adjust the amount depending on what you use – check this useful guide to see the ratios). If you don’t have any stock to hand you can make some up with a vegetable stock cube or bouillon granules and hot water (check the package to see what the ratio of stock cube/bouillon is to water) or worst-case scenario, just use water.Ĭornflour/cornstarch: Cornflour makes the sauce thicker and more restaurant-style. Vegetable stock: Use high-quality tasty vegetable stock. Oil: Use bland flavorless oil here like sunflower oil or canola oil. I use seventeen ounces in this recipe, which is about the size of the larger containers you get in Asian food specialty stores. Silken tofu: The star of the dish, please don’t substitute this ingredient! Use high-quality firm or extra-firm silken tofu (not soft tofu, keep that for desserts) that you like the taste of. Do not substitute with dark soy sauce, which can be quite overpowering. If you don’t have light soy sauce, you can substitute it with half the amount of regular soy sauce or an equal amount of tamari. Soy sauce: I use light soy sauce to just add a touch of flavor. Rice vinegar: If you don’t have rice vinegar you can use any mild vinegar instead, e.g. I use Lee Kum Kee chilli garlic sauce and that’s the one that I recommend.

It doesn’t taste just like chilli and garlic, it tastes quite like a good salty spicy Indian-style pickle. If you have never had chilli garlic sauce then you’re in for a treat.

Onion: Don’t omit this, just use a regular yellow onion, you can also use the white parts of a large spring or green onion.Ĭhilli garlic sauce: Do NOT omit or substitute this, it’s essential and really adds a lot to the sauce. Sesame oil: I use just a touch of toasted sesame oil to add extra flavor and luscious mouth-feel, but if you don’t like it you can omit it.

Garlic: I love the mild hit of garlic in the sauce, but if you don’t like garlic you can just omit it.īell pepper: I use green bell pepper because as I said above with the carrots, that’s what the restaurant adds to their version, but you can use any color you want. If you don’t have any shiitake mushrooms you can substitute with portobello, but I don’t really recommend using other mushrooms as they’re not as flavorful. You can use fresh ones, or rehydrate some dried ones and use them instead. Mushrooms: I use shiitake mushrooms as they really add a ton of flavor. Just make sure the tofu is still the star of the show so try to keep to similar amounts of veggies. Carrots: I use carrots, mushrooms, green bell pepper, and onion because that’s what is in the original dish from my favorite Chinese restaurant, but you can mix things up and change the vegetables if you fancy.

Tofu dishes