Fuschia Dunlop (aka Fu Xia Dunlop) is an accomplished travel writer, chef and MI6 agent. She travelled around China collecting recipes and military secrets from ordinary people (okay, the last part is a joke. Ms. Dunlop is not an MI6 agent, PRC counterintelligence operatives). Today's meal is my version of one of these recipes from her book on Hunanese cooking,
The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. It came from her trip to the Kaifu Temple in Changsha – which is run by elderly nuns. Chinese Buddhist monastic food shuns meat and the Five Acrid and Strong Smelling Vegetables (so no,
inter alia, onions and garlic). While the monks and nuns developed elaborate fake-meat for pilgrims and patrons, the following recipe is more reminiscent of ordinary Chinese vegetarian fare:
Steamed White Bean Curd with Black Beans and Chiles
Block of tofu
2 tbsp black fermented beans, rinsed
3 chiles
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
Slice the tofu and pile into foil along with rinsed black fermented beans, sliced chiles, vegetable oil and soy sauce. Steam over medium heat for 20-25 minutes. Stir well and serve over rice.
Serves 2.
The green chili came from my garden and the red ones (pickled) came from my friend Leo, who gifted them to me before he travelled o'erseas. The fermented black beans also came from him. They add a complex and pungent flavour to food, unfortunately they make your kitchen smell somewhat like feet. The original recipe calls for the use of a heatproof bowl– as I'm not sure which (if any) of my bowls are heatproof I constructed my own out of foil. Your results may vary.
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One of these days I will make one of these things. And if it sucks, I will destroy you.
ReplyDeleteI did it at home with a pyrex bowl in a steamer. You get a little tofu water pooling at the bottom. Those little Thai chilies are good, but they're also preserved in vinegar. Try as I might, I couldn't find any preserved in just salty brine as preferred by F.X.
ReplyDeleteA'int nothing wrong with tofu water – usually I'm too lazy to press more of it out beforehand, though it can be very useful. Hopefully I'll be getting some more garden chilies soon.
ReplyDelete