Andrea Burgener
food
It_s a great favourite with vegetarians and the less texture-phobic, but tofu is still a much maligned ingredient, with many seeing it simply as an animal protein substitute. Understandably, viewed as an alternative to flame-grilled
cattle loin, the standard flabby, white blocks of fresh, untreated tofu appear
to stand no chance on the plate of the average carnivore, but seen as a delight
in its own right it is a fabulous and quite succulent treat.
My fave tofu is in the form of thin-skin tofu pouches. Already fried and marinated in a sweet and malty soy syrup they may look like small chamois leathers, but don_t let that put you off. They_re served stuffed with sushi rice
and sesame, and the better sushi bars add the traditional shiitake mushrooms and
preserved gourd skin (kanpyo). Look for inari-sushi on the menu. The name has
quite a tale attached: in Japanese mythology, Inari is the god of grains; the
fox, his messenger, is apparently _ and inexplicably _ very fond of thin, deep-
fried tofu, so inari was the obvious name for these little purses.
The tofu for inari-sushi is available in most Asian superettes, and it_s a great
sushi form to make at home, eliminating the tricky techniques that nori rolls
and nigiri sushi demand. Just squeeze out excess syrup, stuff and serve. The
rice can be enlivened with spring onion if you don_t have gourd or shiitake mushrooms.
Possibly the most famous of all tofu dishes must be ma-po-tofu _ directly translated, pockmarked grandmother_s (or woman_s, depending on your source) beancurd _ after the acne-scarred grandma Chen of Sichuan province, who made
this dish famous 150 years back. Like so many Asian foods, it_s almost vegetarian, with just a modest soupon of meat added (you can leave this out if
strictly vegetarian). Various adaptations now exist and here_s my (very slight)
adaption of Australian gastronome Terry Durak_s version:
Ma-Po Tofu
6 shiitake or Chinese black mushrooms
6 cakes fresh beancurd
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
3 garlic cloves
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 teaspoons slivered ginger
225g minced pork (optional, or can be replaced with beef or ostrich)
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Asian chilli bean sauce (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken or veg stock
1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Soak mushrooms in boiling water for an hour, then remove stems and cut into quarters. Place plastic, then a weight (such as a book) on to tofu for 30 minutes to drain excess water (optional step). Cut into 2cm cubes. Add oil, garlic, ginger and chilli to well-heated wok. Add meat and mushrooms and fry for
a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bar the tofu, and fry for a minute or
two. Lower flame, add drained tofu and heat through, being careful not to break
cubes. Stir in Sichuan pepper, and serve immediately with steamed Asian rice.
(Serves 4.)
The fact that soy products are real staples for vegetarians and the poor, and
one of the healthiest foods on the planet (not to mention that life is unthinkable without a good soy sauce on hand) makes it doubly worrying that most
of the world_s soybean crop is now genetically modified. Quite ironic, given
that health fundis flock to the stuff. The facts are still murky regarding the
potential negative effects of GM soy on our bodies and the environment, but you
can be sure the guinea pig generation (yep, that_s you and me) will find those
facts out the hard way. For non-GM and organic soy products, try health food
stores, most of which stock non-GM versions of almost all grains.