Five-Spiced Crispy Baked Tofu with Seared Bok Choy

2 T. corn starch

2 T. Shaoxing wine

1 T. dark soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder

pinch black or white pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns ground

4 cloves garlic minced

Tofu

450 g medium firm tofu

3 medium heads bok choy quartered, leaves removed and set aside

1 T. rice vinegar

1/3 cup water

watermelon radishes or carrots (optional garnish)

 

Place the tofu on a plate, then place a heavy plate on top of it to press out the excess water. If necessary, you can add a book to weigh down the plate a little but take care not to crush the tofu. Press for at least an hour, draining the water from the bottom plate periodically. Combine all the marinade ingredients and set aside. Cut the tofu into strips or cubes and combine with the marinade. Let stand for at least 1 hours, or up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 500 F and cover a baking pan with a silicon baking sheet or a very generous amount of high smoke-point cooking oil (e.g. grapeseed or avocado oil). Layer the marinated tofu on the baking tray, making sure to avoid crowding the pieces together. Mix the leftover marinade with the rice vinegar and water and set aside (or refrigerate if you plan to cook the tofu ahead of time). Bake for 7-10 minutes or until the tofu is crispy and brown on the bottom (i.e. the side touching the tray). Flip the pieces and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until the other side is browned and somewhat crispy. Once the tofu is finished, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool somewhat. It can be refrigerated and reheated the next day, if you like. (See note below) Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tsp. of oil (I used avocado, but grapeseed, vegetable, or peanut oil would all work well). Once the oil is shimmering and quite hot, add the quartered bok choy stalks to the pan, cut side down. Sear for about 1 minute, then turn and sear the other face (note that if you use small baby bok choy, you may simply want to halve them instead of quartering, in which case you’ll only need to sear one side). Remove the bok choy stalks from the heat and set aside. Add the bok choy greens to the pan and stir fry for about 15 seconds, then add the marinade and water mixture (from step 4) to the pan. Stir fry for and additional 30 seconds and set aside with the bok choy stalks. The sauce should thicken considerably thanks to the corn starch. Serve the tofu and greens over a bed of rice or noodles and garnish with some crunchy raw vegetables like carrots or watermelon radishes. Notes: In order to crisp up properly, the tofu must bake at high heat. This means that it’s quite easy to overcook (or even burn) the tofu, so make sure to keep a very close eye on it. If you have a silicon baking tray, I strongly recommend using it – even with a grapeseed or avocado oil, an oiled pan tends to smoke a little. Turn on your oven fan to help deal with it, and make sure not to use a low-smoke point oil like olive oil.

Don’t be tempted to omit the corn starch – it’s what makes the tofu crispy as it cooks, rather than just dry. Note that very well-pressed tofu can become quite the sponge for liquid, so you may want to consider doubling the liquid ingredients if you’re using a tofu press or leaving it to drain for a particularly long time.