Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 Kilo (2 lb.) plain tofu, *lightly steamed
12 large Chinese mushrooms*, soaked until soft, thinly sliced
300g (2cups) pea pods
1 bunch scallions
30g (2 Tbsp) tamari or *soy sauce
45g (3Tbsp) arrowroot or corn starch (Organic)
Instructions:
Slice tofu into 2cm cubes and put in bottom of rectangular baking dish.
Lightly simmer mushrooms then add pea pods and scallions for last 5 minutes.
Put these vegetables on top of the tofu.
Use the vegetable cooking water plus enough water to make 700ml liquid. Add tamari.
Dissolve starch in a small amount of liquid; add to the rest of the liquid, simmer, stirring often, until the liquid thickens. Pour this gravy on top of the tofu and vegetable mixture.
Garnish with crushed, toasted almonds and finely chopped cilantro.
Health Benefits according to Chinese Nutritional Therapy
This dish strengthens Qi and Yin. It will Clear Heat and Eliminates Toxins. The combination of ingredients means that this sweet dish nourishes deficiency and helps to avoid and resolve mucus.
*Steam the Tofu
Place the tofu in a large plate and then cut into several 2 cm thick cubes. Silken tofu can be broken very easily, cutting in serving plate can avoid transferring and keep the original shape. You can also choose to steam tofu as a whole box shape. But cutting makes the dish more delicious.
Let the tofu stay in the plate for coupe of minutes, then carefully discard the water released. Set up your steamer and steam the tofu for 6-8 minutes. Transfer out and discard only water in the plate.
*Tamari and Soy Sauce
Tamari is a wider class of soy sauces and is made with no (or very little) wheat, while traditional soy sauce does contain wheat.
• Tamari: Little to no wheat (always double-check if avoiding gluten)
• Soy Sauce: Includes wheat (not gluten-free)
*Mushrooms:
You can use either dried shiitake mushroom, wood ear, chestnut mushroom, oyster mushroom, king oyster mushroom.
James O'Sullivan - that's me, a people friendly practitioner and lecturer of Integrated Medicine, serving my patients, my students and the public with the positive benefits of both Conventional Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It's a wonderful life
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose or assess. The information provided is not to be considered a substitute for consultation with a qualified health care practitioner.