1020. STIR-FRIED SMOKY BACON with BEAN CURD

7 ounces thick sliced smoked bacon
7 ounces smoked or pressed spiced tofu
10 dried or 3 fresh red chiles (use your own discretion here–I used the three fresh red serrano chiles to great effect here)
5 scallions, green tops only, well washed and drained
light soy sauce
2 tablespoons lard or peanut oil

Place the bacon into a heat proof bowl and put into a bamboo steamer over boiling water and steam for ten minutes, until well cooked through. Drain any accumulated water, and cut the bacon into bite sized pieces–about 1 1/2″ long by 1/2″ wide.

Cut the tofu on the bias into pieces nearly the same size as the bacon.

Cut the fresh chiles if you are using them, on the bias into thin slices, and cut the scallion tops into 1″ long pieces.

Heat your wok until it smokes; add lard and melt or add oil, and allow it to heat for about thirty seconds. Add bacon and stir fry for a few minutes until it has rendered its fat–about two or three minutes. Add the tofu and cook both together until the bacon has turned deep reddish brown and the tofu is golden.

Slide the tofu and bacon up the sides of the wok and add the chiles and stir fry in the fat until they are very fragrant. Add the scallion greens and a dash or two of soy sauce (do not add too much as both the tofu and the bacon will have salt in them!) and scrape the tofu and bacon down into the fat and cook just until the scallion tops have wilted slightly.

Serve immediately with steamed rice and a moist braised or steamed vegetable dish.


courtesy of: Barbara Fisher, Tigers & Strawberries