Stewed Beancurd Puffs with Daikon & Carrot

Sometimes I feel really good to have a vegan dish especially when I have had enough meat. This Stewed Beancurd Puffs with Daikon and Carrot that I created last night was a bit like Japanese dish. Daikon has a natural sweetness which is often used in Japanese cuisine. However, I do like to incorporate it in my Chinese cooking as well. The dish I cooked last night was very simple. I just used a red carrot and some beancurd puffs to cook with daikon in stock. The daikon was very tender and absorbed all the flavours in it, very delicious!

Stewed Beancurd Puffs with Daikon & Carrot (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 85 gm beancurd puffs
• 300 gm daikon
• 155 gm carrot
• 1 stalk celery (or Chinese celery), julienned
• 3 to 4 slices ginger

Seasoning:

• 1 cup vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, to tastes
• a dash of sesame oil
• a pinch of pepper

Method:

1. Rinse beancurd puffs slightly. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes to remove oil. Turn occasionally. Drain well and squeeze excess water. Set aside.
2. Julienne celery and stir fry over medium heat with a little oil until tender. Set aside.
3. Peel and cut daikon on the diagonal. Then roll the daikon a quarter-turn, and cut straight down again at the same diagonal angle. Continue rolling and cutting in this way all along the length of the diagonal. Follow the same method to cut carrot.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok or frying pan to saute ginger slices until aromatic. Add the daikon and carrot, then pour in seasoning and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stew till ingredients tender. Add beancurd puffs, then continue to stew until flavoured and sauce thickens.
5. Stir in celery. Dish up and server hot.