Bean Curd Bean Curd Noodles Beef
Fermented bean curd, also called fermented tofu , bean cheese , or tofu cheese , comes in both a white variety and a red diverseness, and it's pretty foreign to the boilerplate American home melt. Other names include preserved bean curd or moisture bean curd.
And then what is this ingredient?
To be upfront, this is ane of those foods that could take been featured on Fearfulness Factor, as its appearance and consistency tin be a little off-putting at outset glance. Fermented foods tend to have that effect. Merely in all honesty, information technology really is succulent and lends an amazing umami flavor to annihilation you add information technology to.
In this article, nosotros'll tell you all you need to know about this ingredient, how information technology's made, how nosotros cook with it, and where to buy information technology.
What Is Fermented Bean Curd?
Fermented bean curd ( fǔrǔ , 腐乳) is a type of preserved tofu made with fresh bean curd (tofu), common salt, rice wine, and other flavorings. For people of Cantonese origin, the pronunciation is "foo yee."
In Mainland china, you can buy pieces fresh from markets, only here in the U.S, it is sold every bit small cubes in jars of brine.
Fermented bean curd is non used as a main protein, but as a flavor agent or seasoning. The flavor is salty, subtly sweet, and many say, faintly cheesy. It too has a texture similar to a creamy cheese.
There is a regular white fermented edible bean curd, as well equally a red version ( hóngfǔrǔ , 紅腐乳) which is made with ruddy yeast rice (we've talked about red yeast rice earlier, in relation to Chinese red vinegar) , a type of fermented rice that has a scarlet/regal color from being cultivated with monascus purpureus mold. This rice is added to alkali to make blood-red fermented tofu.
W ine and spirits are used to make fermented bean curds, and while we don't know exactly what unlike producers use, white bean curd has a more distinct taste of baijiu, a sorghum grain liquor. The reddish stuff tastes more of xanthous rice vino (huang jiu) which is in the same family of wine as Shaoxing vino.
The flavor of red fermented bean curd is stronger (with more umami) than that of white, with a more pronounced taste of rice vino, making information technology more well-suited to braised meat dishes and sauces.
How Is Fermented Edible bean Curd Used?
Nosotros grew up eating this stuff (also called lom yee in Cantonese) and love cooking with information technology.
Fermented edible bean curd can exist used as a condiment, equally an ingredient for dipping sauces, or just a striking of common salt and flavor to eat with a simple rice/h2o " pao fan " or porridge, congee , or mantou (plain steamed buns).
While both red and white fermented edible bean curd tin can be eaten this way, we prefer white fermented edible bean curd with congee, and accept out a small-scale chunk of it to break off in tiny pieces and eat with each mouthful.
It can also be a great ingredient in cooked dishes. The white version is often used to melt stir-fried leafy greens. In Cantonese restaurants, you tin can generally order vegetables cooked in three means: plainly with salt, with garlic, or with white fermented bean curd. Sure leafy green vegetables are especially adept when cooked with white fermented bean curd, including watercress , spinach, and water spinach .
We also employ it to heave the umami in our completely vegan Asian vegetable stock!
When cooking with blood-red fermented tofu, we by and large utilise it for marinades, sauces, and braised meat dishes. It offers an amazing unique flavor to our Fried Chinese Spareribs that always has everyone curious about what "secret ingredient" you've added.
It's also featured in our traditional Buddha'due south Delight (Lo Han Jai) and our Braised Cantonese Pork Belly with Arrowhead Root , both dishes eaten by and large during Chinese New year's day.
We too found out recently that information technology is used to make a type of stuffed biscuit in the Chaoshan region of Mainland china'southward Guangdong Province, where it's oft served with tea (if y'all're interested in Chaoshan cuisine, check out the evidence, " Flavorful Origins " on Netflix). We also utilize it in our ham chim peng Cantonese fried dough recipe.
Buying & Storing
This ingredient is all-time purchased in a local Asian grocery store since there is not much multifariousness online, and buying online can be very expensive. The Wangzhihe brand is the ane we purchase most often at our local Chinese grocery. Hither are a couple pictures for reference.
In that location are various other brands available, so endeavor a few and meet what you prefer.
Store in the fridge later it has been opened, and e'er use make clean utensils to prevent contamination. If continuously refrigerated and handled in a sterile style, it can last for a yr (or even longer––some sources say that it tin last for years, and that the flavor actually improves over time).
Our Favorite Recipes That Utilize This Ingredient
- Stir-fried Water Spinach with Fermented Tofu
- Chinese Ribs with a Sesame Crust
- Fried Chinese Spareribs
- Buddha's Delight (Lo Han Jai)
- Cantonese Mode Braised Pork Belly with Arrowhead Root
- Hong Kong Mode Braised Lamb Casserole
- Ham Chim Peng (Cantonese Fried Dough)
If you take farther questions, permit usa know in the comments––we try to answer every single ane.
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Source: https://thewoksoflife.com/fermented-bean-curd/
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