A while back I posted on Instagram about how much I love Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce. Unfortunately no one else in my family likes eggplant, so I wanted to convert this recipe to something everyone would eat. In this case, tofu. Even my dog likes tofu actually – no issue with the hot pepper flakes either!
I also wanted to simplify the recipe as much as possible, to see if the sauce can be mixed together all at once and then dumped into the fry pan. It can!
The recipe is for 8 to 10 servings because the leftovers taste even better the next day, and it’s also a shockingly economical dish: 10 servings of organic tofu is $4.
You can truly make this on a busy weekday evening.
The first step is to start boiling 3 cups of water for your 2 cups of rice (whatever color rice you prefer). Once the water is boiling, add the rice, cover, lower the heat to simmer, set timer for 25 min.
Now you can start making the main dish.
Tofu with Garlic Sauce and Green Beans
In a large bowl, whisk together the following (large because you will need space for tofu later):
8 cloves of garlic minced
~2 sq cm of fresh ginger minced
4 Tbsp of corn starch
4 Tbsp of soy sauce
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 Tbsp of red pepper flake (dial this down if you don’t like spicy food)
2 tsp of sesame oil
On a cutting board, chop into pieces of your size preference:
30 oz (950g) tofu. Extra firm is my preference. This is two packs of tofu, $1.99 at most stores.
Mix the tofu into the sauce and let sit. This can be done hours or just minutes ahead of cooking.
Again, on the cutting board, chop in half:
24 oz (680g) haricots verts aka green beans (2 bags pre-washed from Trader Joes)
In a large frying pan, start sauteing the green beans in:
4 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
When the beans are bright green and close to cooked (your preference), add the tofu and sauce AND:
1/2 cup of water
Continue cooking until the tofu is hot. Stir frequently.
The rice should be close to done by now. When the timer beeps, ideally, you turn off the heat and leave the lid on for an additional 10 minutes. Then remove the lid and mix/fluff the rice. Serve!
COMPLETE LIST OF INGREDIENTS
30 oz (950g) extra firm tofu
24 oz (680g) haricots verts
4 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
1/2 cup of water
8 cloves of garlic minced
~2 sq cm of fresh ginger minced
4 Tbsp of corn starch
4 Tbsp of soy sauce
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 Tbsp of red pepper flake (dial this down if you don’t like spicy food)
