Eleanor Hoh

Mapo Tofu, Wok Star Style

April 20, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh 2 Comments

Mapo Tofu, literally translated means “pock marked grandma’s tofu”, don’t ask me why! I guess there’s a slight resemblance to pock marks? The beauty of this dish is you can adapt it to however you like it, spicy or not at all, with tri-colored bell peppers or with ground pork or just plain. And that is what being a Wok Star is all about.

What a great one dish dinner, so easy and fast for weeknights! Tofu is a great protein substitute for vegetarians and vegans. If you’re lucky to have any leftovers, take it for lunch and just reheat with some quinoa and have with a side salad!
I’m working on a video and will post up soon!

A friend made a really good point about “recipes” I never even thought about…you end up with all the condiments you don’t know what to do with afterwards. So, with that in mind, I’ve applied my easy, NO-recipe, NO-measuring technique to this Mapo Tofu dish and used seasonings that already come in your Wok Star Kit.

Typically these are seasonings for the Mapo Tofu sauce if you want to try…

Black fermented soy beans
broad bean paste
Chili oil
numbing szechwan peppercorns

After experimenting with Mapo Tofu 3 times, it’s best to use firm tofu and not the silken. Nasoya was the only brand I found in my local markets. I actually prefer the ones at the Asian market but they are not NON-GMO or organic.

You always have OPTIONS…
– add more sauce if you love to eat with rice, noodles, on its own or with other dishes
– add more spice with chili oil, chili peppers, chili flakes or chili sauce
– add meat, typically ground pork but other options are ground beef, turkey, chicken or lamb

Make it totally vegetarian/vegan and ‘stretch’ the dish
Add tri-colored bell peppers for a pop of color.
Hate chopping? Single and don’t want to buy 3 bell peppers?

Get a box of ready chopped tri colored bell peppers available at your local market. I saw at both Publix and Winn Dixie in Miami area.

SAUCE:
TSPC which as you know are…
Tamari (San-j brand), Sherry, Pepper (white), Cornstarch
2 tsp. Koon chun brown bean sauce
Shake of chili flakes (any brand)
Dash of sesame oil (instead of chili oil)

INGREDIENTS:
1 box firm tofu, choose NON GMO/Organic
2 scallions chopped for garnish
handful cilantro, chopped for garnish
2 cloves garlic chopped
thumb size ginger, chopped

I recently made this as a vegetarian dish with tri-colored bell peppers garnished with alfafa sprouts at Fullei Fresh’s Grand Opening and not one morsel was left. John, an attendee mentioned it was his first time ever eating tofu and he was surprised how delicious it was!

Photos were taken by Wok Star Mary at the Grand Opening, thanks so much for taking these great shots!

METHOD:
1. Make sauce in a bowl
2. Cut tofu into cubes
3. Fry garlic and ginger in oil, add sauce, add tofu, add more chili flakes for color
4. Sprinkle scallions and cilantro, done!

Fullei Fresh Marketplace, a community space for healthy living

April 9, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh 1 Comment

Who’d have thought right here in Miami, we have an organic hydroponic sprouting farm?! It was started by Manny Wong, a Chinese family from Cuba. Fullei Fresh grows a variety of organic sprouts as well as bean sprouts AND it’s hydroponic which means NO pesticides or bacteria! AND organic, WOW, so happy. . .I was always hesitant to purchase sprouting greens because I was wary of how and where they were grown. I was thrilled to visit their “farm” and get the tour.
So excited to be invited to give a slide presentation and cooking demonstration at their Grand Opening of their community space for healthy living. There’ll be loads of health related talks, demos and activities from experts in their fields, all are welcome!

Fullei Fresh Marketplace Grand Opening
Saturday, April 14, 10-4pm
12:45pm is my cooking demo!
Click here
Free with registration…

I hope you’ll come and support this community project. Bring the whole family and make it a day, there’ll be food trucks I believe. You’ll get a chance to learn more about them and possibly get a tour.

I’ll be making a very popular dish…Mapo Tofu, spicy and addictive and stir fry Bean Sprouts (something I get asked constantly!)

Mapo Tofu with red bell peppers for some color. Blog and video coming soon.

You’ll learn how to stir fry bean sprouts so they’re crispy, crunchy at my cooking demonstration at 1pm, see you there!

Olivia, Manny’s daughter gave me a tour…

Manny has won many awards as well as been certified for teaching others how to sprout!

Talk about hydroponic sprouts, wow, is anyone into sprouts? They are tenfold more potent than vegetables, can’t wait to try broccoli sprouts. I am going to eat as much of these sprouts as I can! Excited to try other sprouts like beet, sunflower, daikon and clover sprouts, I didn’t realize there are so many varieties! Yay, 2018 is a year for trying new things!

Fullei Fresh sprouts are available at numerous Whole Foods, Fresh Market and I saw them at Laurenzo’s Market in North Miami.

Here are just some ways I’ve been using those amazing sprouts…

Alfafa sprouts immediately upgrades my hubby’s delish wok omelet into a gourmet dish, yum!

Dynamite, perfect for cold night here. Topping broccoli sprouts on my beef soup was awesome, gave a nice accent and zing. Soup was made in slow cooker with very meaty beef necks, onions, and garbanzos. When reheating, I like to add noodles and some fresh vegetables like Bean Sprouts, Bok Choy and tomatoes for some color.

Don’t you love these red beet sprouts on avocado? Adds a pop of color to any dish, they are slightly bitter but I don’t mind. Tip is to add vinaigrette which will temper the bitterness.

Thanks Fullei Fresh for introducing me to these baby sprouts.

Do share ways you use baby sprouts in comment below! And remember to register, see you this Saturday, April 14!
Disclosure: I was given sprouts by Fullei Fresh to experiment with. I just really like supporting local businesses who focus on good, healthy products.

Secret to Stir Fry Noodles That Don't Stick

March 8, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh 15 Comments

Everyone loves stir fried noodles but not when they stick to your wok. My simple rules will guarantee NO-stick noodles if you use a well seasoned cast iron wok. I must confess I was always intimidated frying noodles especially after watching my mom and then my sister fry them so expertly. They did use a LOT of oil but after experimenting a few times, I realized you don’t have to use a ton of oil if you use my technique. You don’t even need to visit an Asian market for any of the ingredients I used in this noodle dish.

Please don’t make this in front of guests till you’ve experimented on your own, less pressure and you’ll be able to think clearly. You’ll notice I was making this for a dinner party with an appetizer of Egg Drop Soup and Apple Galette for dessert. I’ll share those dishes in another post.

HERE’S THE 101 FOR NO-STICK NOODLES…Once you understand the WHY, it’ll be a breeze.

About your wok…
If you are a new Wok Star…don’t make this dish for at least a month till you’ve built up enough patina when your cast iron wok becomes glossy and slick. The MORE YOU USE YOUR WOK, the BETTER the PATINA. If you don’t have a wok, use a wide stainless steel pan but you WILL need to use a lot more oil and I cannot guarantee they won’t stick. This is why I put together a KIT to eliminate all those issues of sticking, it’s not just the wok, you need the heat and then the technique which I’ll share below.

About the heat..
It’s vital to use high heat especially when cooking noodles, otherwise they will stick. If you have an electric stove, good luck.

About the noodles…
If you can’t find Asian noodles in your local supermarket’s Ethnic section, just get thin Italian egg noodles which work FINE! You do know that the Italians learned how to make pasta from the Chinese, right? See technique below. The trick is to get the noodles as dry as possible so they DON’T stick and use OIL in the boiling water to keep them separated while cooking AND add oil while they’re drying as well as when frying of course. Same concept as stir frying vegetables and meat.

Technique for NO-stick noodles…

Boil noodles in the morning if using for dinner. Keep them Al Dente, if too soft, all the starch comes out and that’s what makes them stick to wok!
BIG TIP: squeeze in a few drops of oil (avocado or olive oil) into the water, this prevents them sticking. Use chopsticks and separate the noodles while they are boiling.
Drain really well, wet noodles are another reason for noodles sticking to your wok. Sprinkle toasted sesame oil and make sure oil is covering all the noodles well, use chopsticks and separate them.
Use kitchen cloth towel and cover noodles to prevent from drying out till you’re ready to use.

Marinade pork shoulder with hoisin, tamari, chili garlic sauce

Grill till slightly golden, doesn’t take long

Marinade shrimp with TSPC: tamari, sherry, pepper, cornstarch

Note: you can use just one kind of meat or seafood to keep it simple. You can also just slice the pork and stir fry instead of grilling. My reason for grilling was I wanted to make it like Char Siu (Chinese roast pork.)

Ingredients:
1 head Bok Choy (sub with Broccoli, Broccolini, Cabbage, Baby Boy Choy, Kale, endless choices) cut into diagonals
1 bag multi colored mini sweet peppers (sub with bell peppers, carrots, golden beet)
4-5 scallions, cut into diagonals, green and white
1 big bunch cilantro
1 thumb size ginger, shredded or thwacked
4-5 cloves garlic, diced or thwacked

1 pound shelled, deveined, shrimp (31-40 count)
2 big pork shoulder or spare rib chops

Avocado oil
Toasted sesame oil (NEVER use for high heat cooking please! It’s not stable and become carcinogenic!)

You know the drill…
Seasonings
for marinading shrimp and pork if you are stir frying instead of grilling

Tamari
Sherry
Pepper (white ground)
Cornstarch

Next…
slice grilled pork into bite size pieces

You know the drill…
Heat wok, add oil, add garlic and ginger…
Fry Vegetables – Bok Choy and Mini Sweet Peppers, scallions, sprinkle Tamari and sherry, plate

Heat wok, add oil, add garlic and ginger…
Fry Shrimp – add to plate of vegetables

Heat wok till you see first whisp of smoke, add 4 rounds of oil and let it heat a little before adding noodles…
Fry Noodles – sprinkle a little Tamari and keep tossing the noodles. Since they are well oiled from both boiling and dry AND in the wok, you should be guaranteed NO-sticking! Taste and adjust flavor, add in vegetables, shrimp and pork and keep tossing till all warmed through.

Dish onto big platter, boom, done!

ENJOY! Would love to hear how your NO-stick noodles turned out and what subs or combos you used?