Tofu in Black Bean Sauce

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
7 oz. Fried tofu (Hawaiian style optional), cut into strips or cubed
½ lb. or 2 cups Chinese long bean cut into 3-inch long strips*
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T black bean sauce
1 T oyster sauce or fish sauce
1 T Canola oil
1 T cornstarch
¼ cup water

Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and let it infuse the oil for a bit (but watch not to burn the garlic) then add the long beans. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds and then add the black bean sauce. Blend well with the beans for another minute. (If it looks like the sauce is drying out too quickly, add a sprinkle of water to your wok.)

Add your tofu and blend well with beans and black bean sauce to warm up the tofu. (Careful not to stir too much or you’ll break your tofu into bits.) In a small bowl, mix your cornstarch and water to create a slurry to help thicken your sauce. Add this to your wok on high heat to thicken to your taste. Finish dish off with either oyster sauce or fish sauce blended in and then plate.
Makes 2 to 3 servings. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Serve with a glass of riesling.

* You can substitute with green beans or string beans

TIP: I give you a choice of oyster sauce or fish sauce so you can decide where your dish leans in flavor. Oyster sauce will give your dish a Chinese flavor while fish sauce will make it more Vietnamese or Thai. Either way, both are pretty salty so use it like you’re adding salt; taste as you do it to see if you’ve added enough.

GIVE ME SOME HEAT: Another way to spice up this dish is to add one red chili to give it some heat. Be sure to seed the chili (unless you like it super hot) and then julienne it. Then add the same time you add the tofu.