Braised Tofu Revised

I love tofu. :) Living in China, I get to eat it more often. I stumbled across this recipe for Braise Tofu and served it when my Chinese friends came over to grade my Chinese dish abilities and it got an A+. "It tastes so complex: It's savory then a bit sweet then the end leaves a nice heat! You gotta teach my mom!" -Jeffrey

Original Recipe from "Three Tummies' Kitchen"
serves 2 to 4 as part of a Chinese meal
You'll need;
1 container of fresh soft tofu, halved longways and then cut into quarter-wide pieces
light oil for cooking (usually use sunflower but it's hard to find Stateside, veg oil works well.)
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 to 3 bird chillies, chopped (can also use dried chili peppers)
3 tbs of oyster sauce or  mushroom sauce*
2 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of dark soy
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tbs of sugar
dash of white pepper
dash of Chinese cooking wine (also ok to sub white vinegar)
1 cup of water (I think I used a little less)
3 spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths
(opt.) 1 bell pepper, chunked
(opt) ginger slices
* use mushroom sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce for a vegetarian version

1. Prepare the garlic, chillies, ginger and spring onions. Also cut your tofu and bell peppers.

 2. Pan fry tofu on both sides until golden,  remove and set aside. I also sauteed up my bell peppers after pulling out the tofu.

3. In a small amount of oil, I saute garlic and ginger with a little cooking oil and cook 10 seconds or till fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn. Then add in the seasonings and water. If you want yours spicier, put the chillies in with the garlic and ginger.

 4. Return the tofu to the wok and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

 
5. When the sauce has reduced by half add in the spring onions and cook for a minute more. Add your bells too.

A bowl or two of piping hot steamed rice is all you need to go with this simple but delicious dish.