Braised Beef with Dried Tofu

Slow cooked stew with a bit of spice is perfect recipe to warm up in cold weather days especially in Boston where I live. The best part of the dish is the dried tofu. It soaks up the all flavors of the meat and it has a chewy delightful texture.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of beef (I used sirloin for this recipe)

2 tablespoons of cooking oil

4 teaspoons of Chili Bean Sauce

3 teaspoons of fermented bean Sauce

6 cups of Stock

4 teaspoons of rice wine

6 sticks of dried tofu

one star anise

Directions:

Set dried tofu to soak (about 2 hours) in cold water and chop into small one inch pieces.

Cut beef into 1 inch chunks.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add beef and boil for about 5 minutes. Remove beef and set aside.

Heat cooking oil over medium high heat in a large skillet, add oil, chili bean sauce, fermented bean sauce, star anise, beef, tofu, and stir occasionally for a few minutes. Pour rice wine over the contents of the skillet. Bring it to a boil, then add stock. Covered, reduce the heat to simmer for two hours until meat is tender then serve.