This stir fried bok choy with tofu puffs is one of my favorite veggie dishes. I ate it growing up in China and have continuously cooked it as part of the dinner rotation now, living in the US. Whenever my mom would serve this dish during dinner, I’d get very excited. The dish is super simple, yet strangely satisfying. The porous tofu puffs soak up all the great flavor and have a meaty texture. They’re accompanied by bok choy that’s stir fried until just tender and caramelized yet still a bit crunchy. It’s a great way to get a good amount of green veggies in your weekday dinner.
Ingredients
Tofu puffs (deep fried tofu)
If you’ve never tried tofu puffs (逗泡, or deep fried tofu) before, I highly recommend you give them a try. In Chinese Buddist cooking, fried tofu is usually used as a meat alternative to make a dish vegetarian. It has a spongy and airy texture, with a golden and slightly oily surface. It works like magic with veggies, both in stir fried dishes and in stews. Functioning similarly to meat, the fried tofu adds richness and meaty texture to a dish. Plus, because of its porous texture, it will absorb tons of flavor from the sauce or broth it’s cooked in. You can usually find tofu puffs at Asian markets. They are either in the refrigerated section near the other tofu products or in the freezer. You can store them in the fridge for a week or two, but they’ll stay good for months in the freezer. NOTE: Tofu puffs are called deep fried tofu sometimes, but they’re different from the fried tofu you might make at home. Because tofu puffs are less about crispiness and more about airy texture. I’ve tried a few ways to take regular tofu and fry it at home, but none of the experiments achieved the texture of store-bought tofu puffs.
How to prepare bok choy
You can either use bok choy or slightly larger heads of baby bok choy to cook this dish. To make sure they cook evenly in a stir fry, here is my favorite way to cut it: For a perfect texture, you can even separate the white and green parts and cook the white part a bit longer. But I’m usually lazy and add everything at once. When the white part is cooked yet still crisp, the green parts are withered and quite tender. It’s a texture contrast that I enjoy a lot.
Mise en place
Your table should have the bok choy, tofu puffs, soy sauce, sugar and green onions before you start cooking.
How to cook stir fried bok choy with tofu puffs
Wok vs. skillet
In the past I’ve talked about the reasons not to use a wok, and the benefits of a wok vs. skillet. I have to admit that I use a large heavy skillet for most of my stir fry recipes. However, I do like to use a small flat bottomed wok to cook simple dishes like this stir fried bok choy with tofu puffs. The reason is:
A small wok can hold a lot of vegetables yet it’s easy to handleSince this recipe uses very simple seasonings, wok hei will make the dish stand out more
If you’re using a wok, check out this old video that I made when I was back in China. On the other hand, you can totally use a skillet to make this dish. I prefer a carbon steel or cast iron skillet over a nonstick one, because the bok choy will be charred better. But either case, you should be using high or close to high heat the whole time and you should hear a continuous, loud sizzling sound. But if the skillet starts to smoke too heavily, turn to medium heat. The cooking will be done in less than 4 minutes.
Cooking process
Cooking stir fried bok choy with tofu puffs couldn’t be easier: That’s it! The bok choy will be blistered, with a light charred edge caused by the soy sauce and sugar combo. The bok choy should be tender yet with the white part still a bit crisp. The tofu puffs soak up all the goodness from the aromatic oil and the sauce. Top it on white rice and enjoy!
Dishes that go with stir fried bok choy with tofu puffs
Instant Pot Whole ChickenMom’s Best Braised Pork Ribs (红烧排骨)Tomato Egg Drop SoupChicken Fried Rice (鸡肉炒饭)Easy Salt Baked Chicken (简易盐焗鸡)
