September 22, 2008

Sweet and Spicy Tofu

Vance stumbled upon this dish in a Chinese grocery store, interestingly enough. It was one of those prepackaged cold food that they sell in a container and he immediately fell in love with this dish, a combination of sweet and spicy sauce on cubes tofu. I did my best to recreate this dish and it came out pretty similar. It is really easy to prepare.


2 boxes medium firm tofu (cut into 1"x1" cubes)
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoon ketchup
3 tablespoon Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon Huy Fong chili garlic sauce (add more to increase the heat)
Enough oil for deep frying

Deep fry tofu cubes until golden brown. Drain well.

In a wok, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add in ketchup, sweet chili sauce and chili garlic sauce. Turn the heat to high and cook until sauce thickens. Add in fried tofu cubes. Toss and cook for a minute. Serve warm or cold.

September 8, 2008

Stir-Fry Chicken with Ginger and Mushroom

I've been really busy since school started and I haven't had the chance to cook especially since now I get home in the late evenings from school and work. This is a quick fix meal that I like to pack to school lunch. Sometimes college food is just plain nasty. I find that some Asian grocery stores refer to "King Oyster mushrooms" as "Prince mushroom". I have no idea why but whatever the name is, it is tasty and meaty (surprisingly).


2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (about 4 cups)
King Oyster mushroom, cut into bite size pieces (about 8 cup)
4 inch ginger, julienne
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 large shallots, sliced
3 stalks scallion, sliced into 1 inch sticks (about 2 cups)
4 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (optional)

Heat oil in wok until hot. Add shallot, garlic and ginger. Fry until they start to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add in chicken piece. Cook for a few minutes until all sides turns white. Add in mushroom. Stir evenly and add in oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, water and Chinese cooking wine (if you're using it). Stir and fry for a few minutes. Cover the wok for about 5 minutes. Take the cover, cook until sauce thickens. Stir in scallion and turn off the heat. Serve with warm rice.