Tofu With Black Bean Sauce

Fried tofu with black bean sauce is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. The fried tofu is very delicious, but I personally think the eggplant is the star of the show. The eggplant, tofu and green beans are fried in oil before sautéing in the black bean sauce. This makes the vegetables and tofu more fragrant and less mushy when sautéing.

The fermented black beans is the other star of the show as the flavor of the beans bring umami, a little bitterness and saltiness to the dish. The dish goes perfectly with white rice and traditionally served in a clay pot. The fried tofu with black bean sauce is soooo good, you won’t even notice it’s vegetarian. Serve with perfectly silken Chinese steamed eggs for a full meal! And if you’re a fan of tasty vegetable dishes, make sure to try my Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce recipe too!

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR TOFU WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE:

Frying:

• tofu
• green beans
• chinese eggplant
• corn oil (for frying)
• corn starch

Saute:

• corn oil
• small onion
• garlic cloves
• fried tofu, green beans, eggplant

Sauce:

• fermented black beans
• water
• salt
• sugar
• soy sauce
• vegetarian oyster sauce
• corn starch

STEPS TO MAKE THE TOFU WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE:

1. Cut the tofu in squares and then cut them in triangles. Trim the ends off of the green beans.
2. Peel the eggplant skin in stripes. This makes the eggplant less chewy and some of the skin prevents the eggplant from being too mushy. Slice the eggplant diagonally in 2 inch pieces.
3. Add 1 cup corn starch on the plate. Gently press the eggplant and tofu on the cornstarch. Make sure you get all sides.
4. Add 2 cups of oil in a large pot. Heat the pot to medium heat. Check if oil is hot enough when you add a chopstick or wooden spoon in the oil and you see bubbles come up. Alternatively, you can wait until oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Fry the tofu for 4-5 minutes or until tofu is golden brown and crispy. Then, fry the eggplant on both sides for 2 minutes. Finally, fry the green beans for 4-5 minutes until they wrinkle. The eggplant, tofu and green beans soak up lots of oil so make sure to dab everything with paper towels.
6. To make the sauce, you will need 2 tablespoon fermented black beans. Gently wash them with water 1-2 times. In a bowl, mix together fermented black beans, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon corn starch. Mix until the corn starch is not clumpy.
7. Slice onion and mince garlic. Heat pan to medium heat and add ½ tablespoon oil. Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add fried eggplant, green beans and sauce. Cook for 1 minute and add fried tofu. Mix together until sauce has thickened and coated all the ingredients.
8. This is traditionally cooked or added in a clay pot. You can put it in a clay pot or serve as is with white rice. Hope you enjoy!

Want to have a delicious Chinese vegetarian feast?

• Korean Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim) – tofu braised in a spicy and savory soy sauce is best served with white rice!
• Mushroom one pot rice – delicious mushrooms and bamboo rice cooked in a rice cooker
• Cabbage stir-fry – cabbage stir-fried with vermicelli and chili oil is a perfect vegetable side dish!

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