Garlic Tofu & Mushroom Stir Fry

Here is my second attempt at a dish featuring tofu – Garlic Tofu & Mushroom Stir Fry. 

I patted the block of firm tofu dry before cutting it up into quite large cubes (felt that a bit smaller would have been better).  To prepare the tofu for frying I dusted the cubes with cornflour (cornstarch) that had been seasoned with salt and ground white pepper.

To prepare the mushrooms I quartered them after taking off their stalks and then mixed them up with cornflour and the white of an egg (just because I had it leftover and thought it might help the cornstarch to stick to the mushrooms).  The egg white turned out not to add much so I wouldn't bother next time.

The only other thing that had to be prepared before you could start to cook was to finely slice 5-6 cloves of garlic.  You need quite a lot of garlic because it is the main flavour of the dish.

The other thing you need to think about is what you are going to serve your stir fry with.  I chose plain jasmine rice but you could use noodles or pasta.

Now to the frying – I shallow fried in vegetable oil.  It would be quicker to deep fry but I am always appalled by how much oil that needs.  I even saved the extra oil after this lot of frying.  I do have some Scottish blood in me somewhere from my mother's side of the family – way back some generations though!

First you fry the tofu until it is golden and a bit crunchy – I could have fried it just a bit longer.  Set the tofu pieces aside loosely covered with foil.

Second fry your garlic until just crunch and golden – fish it out with a spoon with holes and set it aside as well.

Third fry your mushrooms – over a highish heat – they should only take about 5 minutes at the most.

Then add a tablespoon each of Hoisin sauce and soy sauce and water.  Instead of Hoisin sauce you could use Oyster sauce.

Add back your tofu and garlic and stir and you are done!  The result was tasty – but maybe a little more sauce would have been better – perhaps make it 2 tablespoons of each!