egg foo young

i used to work next to a chinese restaurant, where for four dollars you could get a slammin vegetable egg foo young. i realized after a while that despite the assurances of the owner there was no way the sauce could be vegetarian and i stopped ordering it. it's been over two years since i worked there but the fancy has never quite left my mind, so the other night i made an attempt. everything went well, and the end result was quite good, although the sauce needs a bit of work.
i used just a cup of vegetable stock plus a tablespoon each of soy sauce and sugar, thickened with a bit of cornstarch. the result was rather pallid, but tasted ok. in my mind it needs to be much thicker and darker - ideas for the future: worcestershire, vegetarian oyster sauce, hoisin... anyway the patties themselves were decent, allow about one egg per patty, two patties per person. for two:

• 4 chicken eggs
• 1 carrot, grated
• an equal amount of daikon (i used about a two inch piece from a big honker), grated
• 1 rib celery, sliced thinly
• 3 scallions, chopped
• ~2 cups loosely packed bean sprouts
  
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• thumb sized piece of ginger, minced

in small sautee pan gently sweat the shallot, garlic, and ginger with a bit of salt, allow to cool. chop all the veg and add those that were sauteed together in a bowl. beat the eggs well and season them, then add them to the bowl as well. mix well.heat a large cast iron or nonstick pan over medium heat with enough oil to liberally coat the bottom. add 2-3 ounces of egg mixture at a time, and using a spatula keep folding the edges over the center of the mass to form a patty. fry on both sides until quite golden (i like some dark crispy bits on mine). keep warm in a low oven until ready then serve doused with sauce next to rice.
of course the veg herein are totally mutable, this is a dish to empty out the fridge. i think what makes it authentic for me are the bean sprouts and the scallions, but i guess it's really just a chinese omelette.

mapo tofu

i dropped my camera on the floor last night while cooking so i have no final picture (that's why they have wrist straps i guess). instead here's someone who really loves her veggies.
on to mapo tofu: this dish was definitely different from the typical stir fry that i make. i looked around for a bunch of recipes online and picked and chose aspects from a couple of them to make something that sounded good to me. i went to my local asian grocery to find doubanjiang, or chinese broad bean chile paste, and then to my favourite store, the spice house, for szechwan peppercorns. the grocery had a japanese version of the chile paste which had soybeans as well as broad beans; close enough for a first time i think, and i didn't feel like trekking out to the super h mart (super asian mega mart).
a couple things that interested me about the recipe: silken tofu? i had no idea it was made with soft tofu until i'd read five or ten recipes. normally i like my tofu extra firm - pressed, seasoned, and baked so it's nice and chewy. i compromised by using the firm (not extra firm) tofu and not pressing it. also, a couple of recipes recommended par-boiling the tofu - more curiousness, but it did firm it up quite a bit. lastly, szechwan peppercorns were illegal to import from 1968-2005. i assumed this was for illicit reasons until i read that it was just some crop disease... the department of agriculture takes the fun out of everything. anyway, here's what i used:

• 1 19 oz. package firm tofu cut into 1 in. cubes
• 3 tbs. szechwan peppercorns, separated
• 1 cup morningstar crumbles (or any fake meat), optional
• 2 dried thai red chiles, seeds discarded, minced fine
  
• 1 thumb size piece of ginger, minced fine
• 2 tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tbs. black bean garlic sauce
• 3 tbs. doubanjiang
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• slurry made up of 2 tsp. corn starch and 2 tbs. water
• enough oil to stir fry
• 1 scallion, sliced, to garnish

boil enough water to submerge the tofu and par-boil for five minutes, remove and drain. over high heat in a dry wok toast 2 tbs. szechwan peppercorns. remove and grind fine in a mortar. add enough oil to coat wok and remaining peppercorns. cook until hissing and popping, remove and discard. add fake meat if using (be careful, oil may spatter) and dry chiles; fry about a minute, add ginger and toss and stir until very fragrant. add black bean sauce, doubanjiang, and soy sauce. stir fry for 30 seconds, then add wine, water and tofu. stir well, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. add slurry, stir until thickened and garnish with scallion and ground szechwan peppercorns. serve with white rice.
not nearly as spicy as i anticipated, but my fire burns hot. nice lasting heat with a very interesting flavour. no tortoises were harmed in the making of this recipe.