Morning Glory with Fermented Bean Curd
豆腐乳空心菜 (Dou Fu Ru Kong Xin Cai)
A common method of flavoring morning glory in Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine is to use fermented bean curd, or 豆腐乳 (dou fu ru). Fermented bean curd is made by brining tofu in a brine of rice wine, salt, and spices. If fresh tofu is the soymilk world’s analogue to a fresh mozzarella cheese, then fermented bean curd is soymilk’s answer to blue cheese, with a creamy texture and a salty, funky flavor. [1] While eating fermented bean curd directly can be an acquired taste (much like blue cheese), it is a great ingredient to use in small quantities, adding a distinct savory flavor to the whole dish. We will be using the morning glory stalks for this dish, which are great at picking up sauces because of their hollow nature. [2]
Ingredients
½ lb morning glory stalks
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 cubes fermented bean curd
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Chop the stalks of morning glory into about ½ inch pieces. The stem ends of the vegetable can be tough, especially if the stalks are quite thick. Where the stalks are too thick and tough, discard them. [3]
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the chili garlic sauce and fermented bean curd cubes to the pan and stir quickly, breaking up the bean curd into small pieces. This quick fry will help bring out the flavors in the bean curd, which should begin to smell fragrant. After 30 seconds, add the morning glory stalk pieces to the pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir well to coat the stalks with the sauce, and continue to sauté, stirring constantly, until the stalks are tender, about 5 minutes.
Salt the morning glory to taste, keeping in mind that the fermented bean curd is already salty. Serve warm or chilled, with rice or congee.
Substitutions
You can use all the morning glory leaves in this dish as well—follow the instructions here, using the chili sauce and bean curd instead of the garlic. Feel free to increase the amount of chili sauce or add fresh chilies if you prefer a spicier dish, or to omit the chili altogether. Depending on how much you like fermented bean curd, you can increase or decrease the amount included in this stir-fry. You can use either the white or red variety of fermented bean curd in this dish.
[1] Like cheese, fermented bean curd comes in a huge variety of flavors. These include spicy versions, ones inoculated with different strains of bacteria and mold, and others flavored with rose and sugar.
[2] The Chinese name for this vegetable is 空心菜, literally “hollow heart vegetable,” in reference to its hollow stems. These hollow stems allow the plant to float on the water, so it can grow in rivers without soil.
[3] You can also grow morning glory from these stalk ends just by placing them in water. In a few days, they will grow roots and then send up new leaves!
Recipe
Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 5 min Total Time: 10 min
Difficulty: 1/5
Heat Sources: 1 burner
Equipment: skillet
Servings: 4
Ingredients
½ lb morning glory stalks
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 cubes fermented bean curd
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Instructions
1. Chop the morning glory stalks into ½ inch pieces, discarding the tough stem ends.
2. Heat about 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chili garlic sauce and fermented bean curd cubes to the oil. Stir, breaking up the bean curd, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the morning glory stalks to the pan, turn the heat up to medium-high and sauté, stirring constantly, until the stalks are tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Salt to taste and serve.
