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