Taiwanese Marinated Tofu - Vegan MOFO Day 10

When I first turned vegan, I ate a lot of Taiwanese marinated dried tofu from the packet.  They are almost like jerky and go very well with booze.  But most of them are full of preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.   

When I was researching authentic Taiwanese vegetarian recipes to veganize and de-gultenize, I came across this amazing marinated dried tofu recipe. (in Chinese).  The original author didn't specify the quantities but I just estimated by the look of the photos with a bit of common sense.  

What you need are:

Oil (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)  

Dried tofu (I chopped up two blocks of Yenson Dry Tofu) 

Whole Star Anises (I used 10)

Szechuan pepper (I used 2 tablespoons)

Dried chilli pepper (I used 1 tablespoon chilli flakes)

Rock sugar  (I used around 1/2 cup)

Gluten-free soy sauce (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)

Instruction :

1) Brown the tofu with a little bit of oil (I didn't do it for the first time and the result wasn't very good) and set a side.

2) Add whole star Anises, Sichuan pepper, dried chilli pepper and oil in a cold wok or fry pan, cook in low heat until fragrant.  

3) Melt rock sugar (you might want to break them up first) to the wok/fry pan   

4) Add tofu and gluten-free soy sauce in and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally  

5) Drain the marinade out and serve. You can keep the marinade and reuse for another time.

I didn't use much oil and gluten-free soy sauce and it wasn't good enough.

I nailed it the second time!

You can also add some peanuts (dry roasted in the wok/on the fry pan first) when you cook the tofu.

It is a great snack or dinner when paired with vegies and rice!