Ginger and Chili Tofu

 I like cooking with ginger, especially when the weather is colder. Most of my Chinese style dishes are very simple, I usually make a tofu or a gluten (seitan) dish, and a side vegetable dish, to serve either with plain rice, or noodles.

 To use fresh ginger I cut a piece from the root, peel it, and then grate it using the ginger grater that I got in Japan (Italian bloggers, you can use the apple grater designed to grate apples for baby food).

Ginger and Chili Tofu

Cut a piece of firm tofu into cubes, top with a chili, sliced, and some grated ginger. Add a couple of tbsp of gluten free soy sauce (or regular light soy sauce) and let the tofu marinate for a few hours, stirring it from time to time so that it gets all coated with the sauce.

 Drain the tofu but keep the sauce and all the chili pieces aside: they will be used later. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (I use rice bran) and lightly fry the tofu on all sides. Lift the tofu from the pan and set aside. Add one tsp of cornflour to the marinade, and a couple of tbsp of water (if it looks too thick), mix well and then put into the same frying pan (or wok) where you fried the tofu. Do not rinse the pan, usually some pieces of tofu get stuck there (they are the best!), but scrape them all up while stirring the sauce. The sauce will thicken immediately, add 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup, and then the tofu. Stir and serve immediately.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©