Wood Ear Mushroom and Tofu Stir Fry Recipe

Here's a simple and easy tofu stir fry recipe. Pan-fried tofu is cooked with celery and fresh wood ear mushrooms.  Quick and delicious. That's it!

The Asian New Year is Sunday, and as you may have noticed, I've been cooking a lot of tofu dishes over the past few days. Next I'll share with you some of my favorite New Year's desserts. Stay tuned!

Black Bean Tofu Recipe

This is a simple vegetarian recipe, but simple doesn't mean that it lacks flavor. I pan-fried thick slices of tofu until the outer layer was very crispy, then quickly sautéed it with fermented black beans and snow peas. The greens were still crisp and provided a great color to the dish. 

If you're starting to think about the upcoming Asian New Year celebration (called Tết in Vietnamese), you might be looking for vegan recipes. Well, search no more! Tradition requires us to eat vegetarian food (ăn chay) on the last day of the previous year and first day of New Year and I will be sharing a few more Vietnamese vegetarian dishes with you until the celebration begins.

Vegetarian Stir Fry Recipe: Tofu with Beans and Carrots

I hadn't cooked tofu in a while and my husband Lulu asked for a vegetarian stir fry. I've wanted him to eat healthier, so I was happy to oblige. The base of the stir fry contains carrots, green beans and onions from Full Circle. To this, I added some kumquat jelly I made last winter (you could use any kind of sweetener you like) and a mixture of fresh garlic and red Thai bird chiles Lulu planted early this Spring. It's just the right combination of sweet and spicy, and I love that the recipe is flexible enough to make use of whatever you have on hand.

I've been enjoying my weekly box from Full Circle. It feels like Santa Claus is leaving me a present on my doorstep every week! And fittingly, our friend Kris from Full Circle is offering a number of free farm boxes, so PhamFatale readers can also experience Full Circle. This week, we're putting up 1 prize and there will be more to come throughout the year as well. To enter, first check on FullCircle.com to make sure there are deliveries available in your area (Shipping is included for all members in CA, WA, and ID, and Anchorage, AK. Outside of Anchorage, AK, there is a shipping fee, and prices vary depending on location.). If so, simply enter your email address and I'll select one winner next Monday. Good luck everyone!

Vegetarian Char Siu Recipe (Tofu Xa Xiu)

If you've been to an Asian market, you've probably noticed the long pieces of Chinese-style barbecue meat glistening with red sauce on hangers. The red sauce is char siu sauce (in Vietnamese, it's called xá xíu). Since my husband Lulu is a vegetarian, I made a tofu version and coated the fried tofu with the sweet sauce. It's made with honey (but I used date syrup for a darker color), hoisin sauce, reduced soy sauce, dry sherry (optional), fresh ginger, five spice powder and sesame oil. I added a little red food coloring to reach the typical char siu color but really, it's up to you. To finish the dish I sautéed the tofu with shiitake mushrooms and red and green onions.

I didn't miss eating meat at all, but of course, you could use the sauce on a pork tenderloin and generously baste the meat with the eye-catching sauce, if you prefer.