Kate L Pugh wrote:

Zhaohui Zhou wrote:
Vegetarian Country Stew
[...]
1 package (140 grams) Superior Tofu Puff, cut into halves*
[...]
Caution: tofu puff absorbs the gravy very well, and can be very hot
in the centre.

I do think it would have been polite to credit the original source of
this recipe - the Superior Tofu website at
http://www.tofu.bc.ca/recipes/entree...untrystew.html

"Polite" is not very similar to the word I would have used. But I
suspect that the main point of the posts made by that particular person
is to promote his web-banner scheme.

[moderator's note: sorry, folks! slipped through the net]


I found that when I was looking on the web to find out what these tofu
puffs are. They're "Light and spongy textured squares with a hollow
centre", apparently:
http://www.tofu.bc.ca/products/asian/puffs.html

They don't seem to be very widely available though. A nice substitute
might be the cubes of deep-fried tofu found in the fridge at Chinese
supermarkets.

They might be similar to Japanese *ganmo*.

ObRecipe:

Ganmo (short for *gan-modoki*, meaning "fake goose")
^^^^^

1 block "cotton" tofu (I think it's called "regular" abroad)
4-cm chunk of carrot
12 mangetout ("snow peas"?)
4 dried shiitake, reconstituted
2 Tbs almond powder (a substitute for the traditional grated yam)
salt

Press the tofu well to get rid of as much water as possible. (The
official way is to wrap the block in paper towels, place it on a tilted
board, place another board on top, and weight it. Keep changing the
towels whenever they get soaked. This strikes me as wasteful and
fiddly--I just wrap it in a bamboo sushi-rolling mat, put it on the rack
over the sink, and balance a couple of tins or something on top.)

Cut the carrot into very thin julienne strips lengthways, the mangetout
diagonally, and the shiitake similarly (in class, the carrot was the
bits left over from carving flowers). Make sure the veggies are dry.
Grind the tofu in a *suribachi* (Japanese pestle and mortar, if you
happen to have one handy, otherwise I suspect a food processor would do)
until it's creamy and free of lumps. Mix in the almond powder and a
pinch of salt, then mix in the veggies.

Heat the oil for deep frying. Test the temperature by dropping a tiny
bit of the mixture in. If it sinks sullenly to the bottom; the oil's not
hot enough. If it skitters frantically over the surface, the oil's too
hot--add cool oil immediately to prevent damage. At just the right
temperature, the bit will sink a little, then rise and make cheerful
frying noises.

Dampen your hands and shape small handfuls of the mixture into patties.
Put a couple of the patties into the oil, but only enough to cover about
1/3 of the surface, to prevent the temperature of the oil dropping. Turn
them when the underside is nicely browned (small puffs ought to turn
themselves as the air in the submerged half expands). Remove and drain
when cooked. Allow to cool.

PS Merry Christmas to all, if this gets moderated in time...

And you!

__________________________________________________ ______________________
Louise Bremner (log at gol dot com)
If you want a reply by e-mail, don't write to my Yahoo address!