An easy weeknight stir-fry that comes together in just 10 minutes. I love the subtle, mouth-numbing effect of Sichuan peppercorns, but be aware that more is not more when you’re adding them to a dish – a half-teaspoon is all you need, otherwise you’ll get the culinary equivalent of a bowl of clove oil for dinner (great if you’ve got upcoming dentistry, otherwise less palatable). Serve with rice or noodles.
Salt and Sichuan peppercorn tofu with tomatoes and spring onions
Make sure you have all the ingredients chopped and ready to go before you start cooking, as this dish comes together very quickly.
Prep 15 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 2
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 spring onions, finely sliced
200g shiitake or baby chestnut mushrooms, halved
200g cherry vine tomatoes, halved
280g firm tofu, cut into 1cm slices, then cut crossways into triangles
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 lime, juiced
To serve
Cooked rice or noodles, to serve
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
3 tbsp roughly chopped peanuts
Put the sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok on a medium-high heat, then add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the spring onions and mushrooms, and carry on stir-frying for three to four minutes more, until the mushrooms have some colour on them.
Add the tomatoes and stir-fry for two minutes, until they’re just starting to soften. Add the tofu, ground Sichuan pepper, salt and two tablespoons of water, and gently stir on a low heat for two minutes. Turn off the heat, squeeze over the lime juice, then taste and adjust the salt as needed.
Serve hot over rice or noodles, and topped with the spring onions and chopped peanuts.
Content shared from www.theguardian.com.
