Leshan "Bear's Paw" Tofu

Xiongzhang doufu, (熊掌豆腐), originally from The Food of Sichuan by Fuschia Dunlop.

The sauce component of this recipe demands a proper mise en place.

Ingredients

Fried Tofu

• 1lb plain white tofu (I prefer medium or even soft for this), pressed & cut into two- or three-bite cubes or rectangles
• ⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp (50g) potato starch
• At least 1 cup (200ml) cooking oil

Sauce

• 2 tbsp cooking oil (preserved from previous phase ideally)
• 1 tbsp doubanjiang
• 1 tbsp Sichuan pickled chile paste or sambal oelek
• 2 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1¼ cups (300ml) stock
• 5 tbsp superfine sugar
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp potato starch,
• mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
• 2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
• thinly sliced scallion greens, for garnish

Quick summary

• start the rice you idiot
• fry the tofu
• preserve oil
• doubanjiang
• sambal oelek
• garlic & ginger
• stock
• remove solids
• sugar & soy sauce
• tofu
• starch
• vinegar
• scallions

Directions

Heat the oil in a wok to 355-375°F (I never measure this, just wait until it bubbles around the edge of a choptstick).

Cover the tofu in a thin layer of starch and fry them in the wok, making sure they don't stick. You really can't over-fry these, as far as I can tell, so I let em go as long as I have the patience for, but they should at least be golden-brown.

Preserve 3tbsp of oil and return to medium heat. At the following in quick succession, waiting until each becomes aromatic:

• doubanjiang
• sambal oelek
• garlic & ginger

Add the stock & bring to a boil. Remove the solid remnants with a fine-mesh strainer, then stir in sugar & soy sauce. Add tofu & let simmer.

Add starch a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency, then add vinegar. Garnish with scallions and serve with rice.