Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to reproducing classic Americanized Chinese cuisine with yet another addition to our ever growing collection of PF Chang's recipes, with a shot at a dish that honestly I didn't even really know existed, which is their Mongolian tofu. For those new here, in this series, we have been deconstructing classic dishes from Americanized Chinese cuisine, then seeing what it might look like when reconstructed through the lens of more traditional wok cooking. The PF Chang's mongolian tofu (as you might guess) is a play on the more common carnivorous version known as Mongolian Beef, for which we have done a few different recipes for at this point, too. 

Despite it's name, Mongolian beef actually has no roots in Mongolian cuisine at all, but instead comes from Taiwanese cuisine, which of course is why it's composition and preparation are all inspired by Chinese wok cooking. Perhaps most iconic about Mongolian beef specifically however is the corn starch coating to the flank steak, which gives the beef its iconic crisp exterior in the stir fry. So, we'll be taking a look at how to translate this corn starch coating for a tofu stir fry, and while doing so, also taking a look at how to properly handle our tofu so that it doesn't break apart, dry out, burn, or honestly just taste like a bland piece of fake meat. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb firm tofu

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 4-6 green onions

  • 8 Tian Jin peppers

  • corn starch slurry

  • 1/2 cup corn starch dredge

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tb corn starch

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 3/4 cup water

  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, and the greens into planks

  • LARGE DICE the tofu, set aside

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside

  • COMBINE all marinade ingredients, then combine with the tofu and set aside for 10 minutes

  • DREDGE the marinated tofu in 1/2 cup corn starch until thoroughly coated

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 1/2 cup peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the tofu 12-14 pieces at a time and fry until lightly golden, about 3-4 minutes

  • REMOVE the tofu, then reheat the wok over high heat, add an additional 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of the green onions and saute for 15 seconds until fragrant

  • ADD the Tian Jin pepper and toss for 1 minute until fragrant

  • ADD the sauce and let reduce for 1-2 minutes until reduced by about 30%

  • ADD the corn starch slurry and mix until a thickened sauce forms 

  • ADD the tofu and green onions and toss to combine

 

tagged pf changs, p.f. chang’s, mongolian beef, mongolian tofu, tofu stir fry, vegetarian recipe, chinese recipe, chinese cooking, woo can cook