Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

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Mapo Tofu, Wok Star Style

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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!

 

Secret to Stir Fry Noodles That Don't Stick

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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…

  1. 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!    
  2. BIG TIP: squeeze in a few drops of oil (grape seed, olive oil) into the water, this prevents them sticking. Use chopsticks and separate the noodles while they are boiling.
  3. 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.
  4. Use kitchen cloth towel and cover noodles to prevent from drying out till you’re ready to use.

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

Grape seed 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 draining 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?

Keep it simple with only Bok Choy & Multi Mini Sweet Peppers. Always have scallions, cilantro for garnish.
Line up everything so you’re ready to FRY!
Fry everything separately!
TA DA! Final presentation.

Shanti Christensen's Book Giveaway and Umami Kale (updated)

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Book Giveaway details below, ends tonight Sunday, April 16: 12am ET, good luck! 

If you crave real home cooked Chinese food, you can win Shanti Christensen’s book, “Family Style Chinese Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from My Culinary Journey Through China!” (see details below!) It’s a MUST.  Shanti’s quest to learn authentic Chinese cooking led her into 40 families’ homes over a 3 year period and culminated in this treasure trove of family recipes. Her superb story telling makes us feel like an extended family, privy to secrets that have been passed down for generations.

You’ll learn about Chinese traditions, the importance of family and with meager ingredients, you can cook up feasts. Lamb Fried Rice Xinjiang Style (p.161) and Braised Pork Ribs in Aromatic Sauce (p.111), umm, not bad bedtime reading or to dream about.

Simple, no frills recipes. They won’t intimidate you or make you keel over with impossible-to-find ingredients like many Chinese cookbooks. My favorite part of the book?  Reading Shanti’s endearing stories about the families gave me a sense of what life was like in China. I was born in China and left when only 9 months old. 

You can experience more of Shanti’s China trip here.

And if you’re lucky enough to live in San Francisco,
she produces outrageous popup dinners serving dishes from all over Asia.

To celebrate this book giveaway, I chose Shanti’s Stewed Kale (p.156) because the day I wanted to experiment from her book, that’s all I had in the fridge. And I loved that because it reflects my whole philosophy of using what you have and make the best and tastiest dish you can!

Creating a sauce to put over veggies is a very efficient way of adding flavor
to a big batch of veggies and gives them a different texture and flavor. 

As always, I couldn’t help being a Wok Star and put my personal spin on it… 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. kale (ready washed and torn into pieces)
Grape seed oil
Sesame oil

Sauce:
1 tsp Koon Chun brown bean sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp i.e. few dashes of sherry
1 tbsp i.e. few dashes of tamari
1/4 cup chicken broth

METHOD…

  1. Combine all sauce ingredients in bowl
  2. Heat cast iron wok till hot, add sauce and fry till fragrant
  3. Immediately add kale and cover with sauce.  Add broth, tamari and sherry.
  4. Cook till kale is wilted, taste for doneness, if not enough sauce, add a little more broth and cook till tender.

This kale goes well with ANYTHING.
I’d love to hear about some of your favorite ways for preparing kale in the comments.

Ready for Book Giveaway?  Keeping it simple, here you go:

1.  Subscribe to my free newsletter in right sidebar —->
2.  Follow Shanti Christensen on Instagram @showshanti
3.  Follow Eleanor Hoh on Instagram @wokstar and leave comment on Book Giveaway post
4.  Leave a comment below why you deserve to win Shanti’s cookbooks?  Then email me eh at eleanorhoh dot com so I have your email if you win.
5.  Eligibility:  Only for United States residents. Closing date:  Sunday, April 16 , 12 am ET. Check back here for winner announcements Monday, April 17.
6.  A random winner will be picked and contacted via email. Respond ASAP, otherwise I will pick the next winner.
7.  Your book will be sent directly to you, good luck everyone!

If you didn’t win, you can still buy Shanti’s cookbook here. 

Want more ideas for vegetable dishes?…

Simple Kale Stir Fry

Three Ingredient Broccolini

How about more Kale recipes?

Serious Eats: 15 Kale recipes

All the Kale Recipes You’ll Ever Need

Umami Stewed Kale