Frozen Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 block tofu
• chicken stock (高湯)
• ham broth
• meat broth
• shiitake mushrooms (香蕈)
• winter bamboo shoots (冬筍)

Instructions

1. Freeze tofu overnight. Cut into cubes. Blanch (焯水) to remove the raw bean flavor. Braise in a mixture of chicken stock, ham broth, and meat broth. The longer the tofu braises, the more porous it becomes—the surface will develop a honeycomb texture, resembling frozen tofu in appearance. When plating, remove the chicken and ham but retain the shiitake mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots for their fragrance. Note: stir-fried tofu should be tender, but braised tofu benefits from older (firmer) specimens. Some masters use only mushrooms to cook the tofu and follow the frozen-tofu method even in summer months, which is excellent. Do not add any non-vegetarian stock (葷湯), lest you lose the pure, delicate flavor.