Braised Spicy Pork with Bean Curd

I had been stuck with some lazy bug symptoms for the past few days. I seems to be aimless and lost focus easily. I guessed I needed someone to come and knock on my head to kick out this lethargic bug that had been in my system this few days. WAKE UP WAKE UP! Time to get things done and keep going forward. (Am telling myself this statement while writing this post)

Oh well, back to this post, it's another porky dish that I had prepared for our dinner. Hubby commented I had been using star anise and cinnamon sticks frequently nowadays in my dishes including this one. Well, it's good to utilised all the raw ingredients that we had in our kitchen to prevent wastage. *Wink wink*... Hehehe and furthermore, this two lovely ingredients does enhances the flavour for the dishes, so why not use them right?? :)

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

3 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

3 stalks spring onion, cut 2 inch length

1 thumb size ginger, flattened

6 dried chilies, soaked and cut into strips

1 block soft bean curd

500g pork belly

cornflour solution for thickening

Seasoning

5 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

750ml water

Methods

1. Heat up oil. Saute star anise and cinnamon stick till fragrant. Add in spring onions, ginger, dried chilies and stir fry till aromatic. Add in seasoning and bring to boil.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Lower and simmer for 45 minutes till pork is soft. Dish up pork and bean curd.
3. Thicken the sauce with cornflour solution. Pour the sauce (minus the remaining ingredients) over pork belly and bean curd. Serve hot.

A sinful dish (not for the faint heart or weight watchers)

Love the gravy which is infused with aroma.

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Baked Tofu

Tofu before baking in the oven.

Baked Tofu

Ingredients

5 firm tofu

Marinade
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Mei Kwei Lu
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp onions, minced
1 tsp ginger, diced
3 tbsp water

Methods

1. For best results, tofu should be "pressed" in order to remove excess liquid and absorb the flavors of the marinade.
2. To make marinade, simply whisk together the ingredients in a bowl.
3. After tofu is pressed, cut the block into small cubes.
4. Place pieces of tofu into baking dish, and cover with the marinade.
5. The tofu can sit overnight in the marinade, or can be prepared right away.
6. Preheat oven to 200 Celsius
7. Bake tofu about 35-45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.
8. Serve hot.
   

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Steamed Tofu with Prawns

I was tempted to try this dish as I was attracted to the food presentation by Wokkingmum in her food blog. I had used her recipe for this dish and modified a bit from there. Don't you agree that you will be tempted to try out the tofu by just looking at its presentation.

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