In the United States and Europe, rhubarb is known as the pie plant and in fact we tend to use it in sweet dishes. However, in Asia, it is more used in savory main dishes. Today, I’m presenting a savory dish that was inspired by the following blogs: ( blog 1 and blog 2). The rhubarb gives the sour taste that is balanced out nicely with the sweet and hot Chinese sauce and the bitter bamboo shoots. I chose broccoli as the main vegetable for the dish. Traditionally, pork is used but is replaced here with the tofu. In the original recipe, the raw rhubarb is blended in the sauce but I made it more traditionally sautéed like the rest of the vegetables.
For the meat version of this dish, please, see this recipe.
Recipe
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
- 500g tofu
- 2 tsp + 3 Tbsp honey (or replace with agaste sauce for a vegan option)
- 1/4 tsp five spice
- chili flakes to taste
- Sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp sake
- 3 Tbsp rice wine
- 3 Tbsp graded ginger
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 5 large cloves garlic
- 200g of rhubarb stalks (about 3 smaller or 2 bigger stalks)
- 2 large heads of broccoli
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 can (8oz/225g) of bamboo shoots, drained
- handful of penuts, chopped
- 4 scallions, chopped
- lime
- cilantro
- rice or rice noodles
Ingredients listed as used in groups
Rice or rice noodles
Marinade/tofu: 2 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp five spice powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli pepper flakes (optional), 1 Tbsp seasame oil, 3 Tbsp rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 500 g tofu.
The sauce: 5 cloves garlic, 3 Tbsp honey, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp ginger, 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (or to taste).
Vegetables: 200g (3 medium sized) rhubarb stalks, 1 large onion, 2 heads of broccoli, 1 can of bamboo shoots.
Toppings: handful of chopped peanuts, 4 scallions, small handfull coriander, soy sauce and limes.
Directions
- The rice. Make the rice of your choice. I used sushi rice.
- Cut up the tofu so it is about 1 cm / 1/2 inch thick. I made triangular shapes but rectangular or square shapes are fine too.
- Mix the ingredients of the marinade in a small bowl and pour it all over the tofu. Cover and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Make the sauce. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix to get a nice sauce. Set aside.
- Take tofu/marinade out of the fridge and strain off marinade. Pat dry tofu with a towel. Sautee tofu slices in small amount of oil for about 5 minutes on each side. Cover and set aside.
- Cut up the vegetables. Thinly slice the onions, cut up the broccoli flowers. Cut rhubarb diagonally in 2-3 inches length. If stalks are bigger, cut them in half first.
- In a larger pan or wok, heat seasame oil, add rhubarb batons in a single layer and cook for abot 1-2 minutes while stiring to make sure all sides cook well. Make sure you don’t over cook rhubarb, they should be firm and not mushy. Add 1 Tbsp sugar and cook for 1 minute. Take off heat and set aside.
- On medium high heat, sauté the sliced onion for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the brocololi and continue sautéing on medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until it is soft but still crunchy. Add the sauce made earlier. (Quickly whisk, then pour it into the pan). Add the rhubarb (that was set aside from earlier step) and the bamboo shoots and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for three or four minutes. Add the tofu and toss and coat well and cook until the fofu is warm.
- Serve on rice with chopped cashew nuts, chopped scallions, cilantro, lime wedges and soy sauce.
enjoy!
Sources
http://www.mostlyeating.com/ tofu with hot and sour sauce
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/35104325/posts/55143
Photo, recipe and text by twincitiesherbs.com.
Twin Cities Herbs 
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