Northern-style bean curd
Instructions:
- For the stir-fry:
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated root ginger;
- 5 fl oz vegetable stock;
- 1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry;
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt;
- 1 pinch of sugar;
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil;
- 1 tablespoon cornflour blended with 2 tablespoons cold water.
- Coat the dofu cubes in potato flour or cornflour and place on a plate.
- Heat a wok over high heat and fill to a quarter of its depth with groundnut oil. Heat the oil to 350°F, or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds.
- Coat each dofu cube in the beaten egg and lower into the wok. Cook all the dofu until golden brown, then remove and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper. Drain the oil from the wok, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
- Reheat the oil, add the ginger and stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the stock, rice wine or sherry, the salt and sugar and bring to the boil. Add the dofu back into the wok and then drizzle with the sesame oil. For a smoother, slightly thicker sauce, add the blended cornflour when the sauce has come to the boil and stir until tickened before adding the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the spring onion over the top and serve immediately.