Miso-bean curd with beef, Peas Rice (Dinner 22 June)

This is called Ma-bo Tofu in Japan and Ma-po Tofu in China. Very popular menu in any chinese restaurants. Instead for using chinese black bean sauce, I make this with Japanese Miso. Miso makes the flavour slightly milder than with the Chinese bean sauce.

Got a nice pea pods so I made peas rice. The brown thing in a small dish is also a Tofu menu. This is called Okara, the bean curd lees with veggies simmered with soy sauce and mirin. Okara contains high amount of protein as well as fiber.

Ingredients of Miso Bean Curd:

Tofu (250g), minced beef (70g), 2 spring onions, 1 tablespoonful chopped ginger, 1 clove of garlic

Seasoning A: 1 teaspoonful miso, chicken bone stock (1 teaspoon)/chicken stock (1/2 cube), 1/2 teaspoonful chili, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 60cc hot water: put everything in a bowl to dissolve

Seasoning B: 1 tablespoonful Mirin or Taiwanese sake

Seasoning C: 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce.1 teaspoonful starch flower (disolved in 60cc water)

 

Seasoning A in the bowl 
and soy sauce and sesame oil

Directions:

1. Wrap the tofu with kitchen paper and microwave it for 1 min to drain the water

2. Chop spring onions, garlic and ginger. By making some long strokes lengthwise on the spring onion before starting to cut widthwise, you can make a nice small pieces of spring onion 

3. Soak the beef with Seasoning B for 5-10 mins

4. Heat up a large frying pan and add 1 tablespoonful vegetable oil. Fry the spring onion, garlic, ginger and minced beef

5. When the beef is done, add roughly cut tofu and simmer with seasoning A for 4 mins. Once it become boiling, add the seasoning C and keep heating until the suce gets thick

Directions of Peas Rice: 

1. Remove peas from pods and cook them in boiling water for 5 mins. 

2. Add on the top of cooked rice with pinches of salt and mix well from the bottom. 

Total time to prepare: 40 mins
Total cost: 4.50 pounds (2 pounds for Tofu, 70p for peas, 80p for beef, 1 pound for other veggies (including salad))