Vegetable braise with red fermented bean curd
Red fermented bean curd gives this vegetable braise a savoury depth, coating substantial jade wood ear pieces, tender shiitake and beancurd sticks. Sweet cabbage and glass noodles soak up the light sauce for a generous dish to share with rice.
Times are approximate and include the stated soaking, preliminary cooking and waiting. Allow longer when needed, checking the hydration and doneness described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Cover the beancurd sticks with cold water as directed on their pack and refrigerate, covered, at 5°C or below until soft throughout. This often takes 2–4 hours, longer for thick types; split a piece to check for a dry core. Drain, rinse and cut into roughly 5 cm lengths. Rinse the jade wood ear and shiitake separately, then cover each with plenty of warm water for about 15–30 minutes. If not fully softened, change to cold water and continue soaking in the fridge. Check the shiitake centres and unfolded wood ears have no hard dry areas. Discard both soaking waters, rinse, and trim tough stems and bases.
Put each fungus in its own small pan, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Simmer steadily for 40–60 minutes, topping up with hot water as needed. The jade wood ear must be cooked through, supple in its thickest parts while retaining a bite; a small knife should enter the thickest shiitake flesh easily. If needed, cook for another 10–15 minutes and check again. Drain, slice the shiitake thickly and cut the wood ears into manageable pieces. Continue straight to the braise. If waiting, cool promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours, then heat thoroughly in the braise.
Soak the glass noodles separately in warm water according to their pack, often about 10–15 minutes. Drain and snip shorter. Mash the fermented bean curd in a bowl and stir in its jar liquid, soy sauce, sugar and 300 ml vegetable stock. Saltiness varies by brand, so hold back some soy sauce and adjust at the end.
Heat the neutral oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Stir the ginger for about 30 seconds, then add the carrot and cabbage stems and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the cooked fungi, soaked beancurd sticks, cabbage leaves and sauce. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 8–12 minutes until the cabbage and beancurd are cooked and tender, with no firm beancurd core. Add small splashes of hot water if the liquid reduces too quickly.
Gently separate the softened noodles into the pan. Cook for about 3–5 minutes, or as directed on their pack, until cooked through and coated in the sauce, leaving a little liquid in the pan. Stir in the sesame oil and taste before adding any extra soy sauce. Serve hot in a large bowl with rice, removing the ginger slices if preferred.
Contains soya and sesame; soy sauce and some fermented bean curd may contain wheat. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Refrigerate soaking ingredients as described. Cool leftovers in shallow containers and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only the portions needed, once, until steaming hot throughout; the noodles may soften further.
