CHINESE INGREDIENTS TO SPICE UP YOUR CUPBOARD

Following on from Hot and Sour Soup...

   Scroll down for Bamboo Shoots, Tofu & Chinese Mushrooms...

These ingredients are necessary for Hot & Sour Soup but will generally add loads of flavour and texture to Chinese cooking. They are available in most Chinatowns and in some major supermarkets.  Most health food shops also sell various forms of organic tofu.  

Dried Chinese Mushrooms
available in Chinese supermarkets

DRIED CHINESE MUSHROOMS
(from Chinese supermarkets)
These are now sold in packets small enough not to break the bank. They are not cheap but most recipes call for only a few at a time.  They keep forever though it's adviseable to store them in an air-tight container with a tight fitting lid, or in the plastic bag within the package, stapled until ready to be transferred to a jar.   
67 would not be without them, using them in stir-fries and Almost Instant Noodle Dishes.  Share the cost and contents of a packet with pals.
Scroll down for photo of reconstituted mushrooms

BAMBOO SHOOTS, TINNED

Bamboo Shoots, tinned
Most of the Chinese brands are fine 

A 220 gm tin costs about 80 pence.  It's a uniquely Asian vegetable and adds a wonderful texture and taste to stir fries.  Tell any hesitant children bamboo shoots are what pandas eat! Leftover bamboo shoots can be kept for up to two days. Rinse and add to stir-fries.    

TOFU

Tofu is one of those Asian superfoods which vegetarians, vegans and carnivores all enjoy.  It's made from curdled soya milk from soya beans, in a process similar to cheese.  Tofu comes in two forms: silky and wobbly, or firm.  It's low-fat, high protein and high in iron and calcium -- very nutritious.  Treated well, it can be a delicious meat substitute. 

Some recent research indicates that tofu can have drawbacks as well as benefits but 67 believes it is, in moderation, fine -- like nearly all foods.  

SILKY TOFU comes pre-packed in cartons, usually sold in major supermarkets, and is most often used for salad dressings or in baking.                                              

Silky Tofu - 4 pads

ORDINARY TOFU comes packed in water, without preservatives. It comes in 4 pads , like this (under £2), or 3, 2 or pre-packaged single pads known as 'silken' tofu. It's quite delicate and needs careful handling.  It has no real flavour.  Unless tofu is cooked in something well-flavoured like Hot & Sour Soup, it needs to be marinaded in a 1-1 mix of dry sherry or grape juice & soy sauce with grated ginger and garlic. 


FIRM TOFU (This one's organic)

Firm Tofu

You can see from the air holes that this tofu will be much easier to handle.  This is a plain one, perfect for soups and, marinaded, in stir fries.  The smoked and spiced versions, sliced, make great veggie sandwiches.
                                                                                    



RECONSTITUTED CHINESE MUSHROOMS 

Soak in boiling water 20 mins &
save soaking liquid

See Also How to...Use Sticky Rice, Preserved Black Beans and....   

  

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This information has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.