Any mushrooms work great in this recipe. Shiitakes are used here because they are ideal in stir-fry cooking.

Ingredients:

  • ½ pound firm tofu
  • 2 pounds baby bok choy
  • 2 Tsp sesame oil
  • 4 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp high heat sunflower oil
  • 3 dozen shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp grated ginger
  • 6 scallions, sliced diagonally in ¼” pieces

 

Directions:

Wrap the tofu in a clean kitchen towel and place a cutting board or something reasonably heavy on top (I use a big pot from the Ratna Ling kitchen). Let sit for about 15 minutes to remove excess water. Then remove the towel and then slice the tofu about 1/2 inch thick into about 1 x 2 inches (like dominoes).

Mix together 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, 1 Tsp of the brown sugar and 1 Tsp of the sesame oil in a medium bowl. Toss with the tofu, and stir to make sure all of the pieces are coated. Let sit for five to 10 minutes (or longer for more flavor) while you prepare the other ingredients.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cut off and discard stem ends of bok choy. Separate leaves, rinse and drain. Drop leaves into boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until barely cooked. Immediately remove, rinse with cool water, drain and pat dry. Arrange leaves in one layer on an ovenproof earthenware platter, then set aside.

Put a large wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add sunflower oil and when sufficiently hot carefully drop in tofu, gently stirring five minutes on both sides. Remove tofu from pan to rest atop bok choy.

Add remaining sesame oil to pan and drop in shiitakes, stirring to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Reduce heat slightly and add garlic, ginger, sugar and tamari. Stir-fry for 1 minute more.

Spoon shiitakes and pan juices over reserved cooked tofu and bok choy. Garnish with scallions.