This has always been a favorite dish of mine and I wanted to find a way to make it without the ground pork. I made it for friends, who don’t eat meat last night and it was really good. It has all of the flavor I love, without the meat.

It has a few critical ingredients, which might take a bit to find, but once you have them you will have enough to make it many times. I have divided it into four steps to make it easier to follow. As with all Asian food, make sure to prepare all ingredients before you start cooking.

 

Ingredients:

½ cup Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Chili and Garlic Paste
2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cornstarch

3 Tbsp Oil
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh Ginger root,, peeled and minced
1 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces.
6 Green Onions, chopped, white part only. Set the green bits aside for dressing the dish at the end.

1 Tbsp Fermented Black Beans, mashed.
1 tsp Szechuan Peppercorns, ground. These are critical, so keep looking until you find them.
1 Tbsp Chili Bean Paste, also call doubanjiang

14 oz Medium Firm Tofu, cut into ¾ inch cubes

Preparation:

Combine the first seven ingredients into a small mixing bowl and mix thoroughly, and set aside.

Heat your wok until hot and then add 3 Tbsp of oil and stir fry the garlic, ginger, red pepper and green onions until just slightly softened. Add in the black beans, peppercorns and chili bean paste and sauté briefly.

Then add the tofu and gently toss for 1 -2 minutes. Then add the vegetable broth mixture and gently toss until the dish thickens. Sprinkle the reserved green onions on top as garnish and serve with white of brown rice.