Chinese family-style meal, all vegan of course. Cabbage, bok choy, homestyle Chinese cauliflower, and green chili + Wenzhou dried tofu. Everything stir fried except the rice (not pictured.)
well done! the cauliflower looks particularly wonderful, what all is in that one?
So I fried the aromatics and spices first, which were garlic, (white part of) scallion, dried red chilis, and Sichuan peppercorn. Then added the cauliflower, and finally seasoned with salt, soy sauce, and a touch of sugar. Also tossed in the green part of the scallion at the end.
Wow people eat this crap? Only animals eat vegetables.
spoiler
ofc I'm joking, I wish I could cook veggies this good
nom nom raw grass nom nom
Thanks! I almost don’t know how to cook veggies another way since this was the first way I was taught. I owe my good stir fries to my wok.
Can’t take credit for those because they’re my parents’, but I like them a lot too.
I just recently had that cauliflower like that for the first time at a ramen place, and it was amazing. I've checked a bunch of stores, and still haven't found it in the wild yet. is it just called "chinese cauliflower"? I assumed it was just an under ripe variety. The search continues.
Also what is that tofu? it looks maybe fermented, and really nicely dried out. if it's something I can buy, I will, but I'd be tempted to make it if it's doable with homecook tools. I have a hard time cooking or enjoying wet/spongy tofu.
It's just a 干子 tofu. I've seen it marketed as "five spice tofu" in the west. It's dried and sometimes smoked. Has a chewy texture.
I'm lucky to live in a place with a high Chinese diaspora population, so I always find mine at the local Asian grocery, but not sure about whether it's readily available other places. I've seen it called Chinese cauliflower, Taiwanese cauliflower, fioretta cauliflower, or flowering cauliflower. Apparently it's a broccoli-cauliflower hybrid? Just learned that, but it makes sense.
CloudAtlas is correct, I used a type of dried tofu. The specific type of dried tofu that I used is rather unique, though; it's sold as Wenzhou Dried Tofu at my local Asian market. It's softer and a little wetter than most dried tofus, though not as soft as block tofu. It also has a very strong soy flavor. This is what it looks like:
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It's a rather specific product. Most dried tofu is much firmer and drier and does not taste as strongly of soy. It's super easy to cook with, I recommend.
there are a ton of asian grocers near me, so I'll be sure to check them out. no idea why I couldn't think to try any of them until you mentioned it. seems so obvious now.
also, it makes sense why that cauliflower tasted more like broccolini.
thanks for all the info!
Man I wish I was in a situation where I could cook for more people than just myself, where these multi-dish meals are more sensible. Just making mapo tofu with rice is already pretty good though.
Looks tasty! I'm a big fan of anything cabbage related and stir fried cabbage with sauce is always the bomb
Chinese family style is one of my favorite ways to prep food. I love your plates!
