I like cooking with ginger, especially now that the weather is getting colder. Most of my Chinese style dishes are very simple, I usually make a tofu or a gluten (seitan) dish, and a side vegetable dish, to serve either with plain rice, or noodles.
Ginger and Chili Tofu
Cut a piece of firm tofu into cubes, top with a chili, sliced, and some grated ginger. Add a couple of tbsp of soy sauce (I use Japanese soy sauce, I prefer it to other types) and let the tofu marinate for a few hours, stirring it from time to time so that it gets all coated with the sauce.
Drain the tofu but keep the sauce and all the chili pieces aside: they will be used later. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (I use rice bran) and lightly fry the tofu on all sides. Lift the tofu from the pan and set aside. Add one tsp of cornflour to the marinade, and a couple of tbsp of water (if it looks too thick), mix well and then put into the same frying pan (or wok) where you fried the tofu. Do not rinse the pan, usually some pieces of tofu get stuck there (they are the best!), but scrape them all up while stirring the sauce. The sauce will thicken immediately, add 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup, and then the tofu. Stir and serve immediately.
Ginger Bok Choy
The bok choy comes from my garden, is growing well now, one of the easiest brassica to grow, in my opinion. It looks great if you cook it whole, but for a family meal it is easier to cut it into pieces first. Wash well and cut into big chunks. In the meantime in a bowl mix 1 tsp of cornflour with 50 ml of water, 2 tbsp of soy sauce (as always, I use Japanese soy sauce), and half a tsp of grated ginger. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (I used rice bran oil) in the pan and add the white stalks of the bok choy first. Sizzle for a couple of minutes, then add the green leaves. Cover for a couple of minutes and let the greens wilt in their own steam. Add the sauce and mix until the sauce thickens. Serve immediately.
Ginger, Carrot and Pear Juice
Finally, this is not exactly a recipe, but if you like juices you may also like this combo: carrot, pear and a piece of ginger root. Super healthy!
Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©
I Like the sound of both these dishes Alessandra.
ReplyDeleteI too love ginger...almost drink ginger tea everyday and use it in most of my stir fry's...all the recipes are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the juice. It looks good!
ReplyDeleteI like ginger too Raji, but with lemon :-)
ReplyDeleteAle, ma quel tegametto bordato di azzurro serve a grattugiare lo zenzero? lo voglio....queste tue verdure mi fanno impazzire, ma le coltivate voi non capisco, hai delle verdure meravigliose...
ReplyDeleteTamara, solo il bock choy (il cavolo cinese) lo coltivo io, lo zenzero ed i peperoncini li ho comprati :-). La grattugia per lo zenzero l'ho comprata in Giappone, se tu hai una grattugia per le mele puoi usare anche quella, altrimenti cerca nei negozi orientali e vedrai che la trovi anche in Italia.
ReplyDeleteChe fantastica zenzerata ! Io lo adoro ! Per mnon parlare di crescentine e gnocco !....
ReplyDeleteAle, ma quel cavolo cinese assomiglia tanto alla nostra bietola quella con le coste larghe, ma non è?
ReplyDeleteio ho la grattugia da mela, ma la tua mi piace di più, andrò nella zona orientale di Roma e la compro;
la ricetta originale prevede le melanzane, ma mio marito le odia non le può neppure vedere, che dovevo fare, a me piacciono tanto...ma è buona lo stesso... vedrai la ricetta di giugno un dolce giapponese....baci
io infatti ho riesumato la grattugia-mele di plastica trasparente usata per i baby, hai preparato un buon pranzo leggero ma saporito con quel succo che mi attira parecchio, io non bevo bevande ma solo acqua, succhi e centrifughe.
ReplyDelete.....quando ci vuole un goccetto di vino ^_____^
Tamara, aspetto giugno allora!!! Sono curiosa! E no, non sono le beitole, il bianco ha una consistenza diversa, quasi 'vetrosa', nei negozi cinesi li trovi di sicuro!
ReplyDeleteBrava Astro, fammi sapere come vai con il grattuggia mela!
sono incantata sia dalla preparazione del tofu che della verdura...so ch enon è la stessa verdura ma io potrei provare con le nsotre coste! un baciotto
ReplyDeleteOne ginger 3 great recipes... Lovely idea!
ReplyDeleteAle, questo menù mi fa letteralmente impazzire! che buono!
ReplyDeleteChe profumo d'Oriente!!! Anch'io amo cucinare con lo zenzero, ma non me lo faccio mancare nemmeno nella bella stagione, perché aiuta a digerire e dà la carica, che in questo periodo mi manca proprio!
ReplyDeleteGinger is a great ingredient. We've just had a Thai style meal this evening and I put loads of ginger in. Your photograpsh are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteYum! I enjoy tofu and your dish looks awesome. The juice looks so pretty and refeshing. You remind me I need to make more juice - more often!
ReplyDeleteInteresting recipe..great idea of juice too :)
ReplyDelete@ Lo: Se non trovi i bok choy puoi usare la stessa ricetta per ogni verdura verde, benissimo con gli spinaci, i broccoletti e cime di rapa, L'importante e' non cuocerle troppo, devono essere semi crude e ancora belle verdi e croccanti.
ReplyDeleteTofu gets awesome makeover here. All the other dishes looks delicious too.
ReplyDeleteThat is my type of juice!! Looks really refreshing :)
ReplyDeletehttp://ladyonaroof.blogspot.com/
I really like tofu! i haven't tried to grow bok choy before.
ReplyDeleteI don't like so much tofu but for this recipe i would it it ; D
ReplyDeleteGreat menu! I've got the ginger grater, or better, I use a garlic grater bought in Provence but that is basically the same device! Is bok choi so easy to grow?
ReplyDeleteYari, you can grow bok choy on your window boxes, it is easy, and even if you don't have much space you can eat it small, in fact small bok choy is quite classy :-).
ReplyDeleteI love ginger and use it everyday... Loved the ginger carrot and pear juice.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day, dear Alessandra!