Asian Celery Beijing Style (vegan)
POV: This is the dish you want to make when you’re looking for something satisfying that’s not too heavy but still packs an umami-punch. This meal won’t give you food coma, it will make you feel full but in a good way that lets you sleep easy or continue the day without feeling like you need to lay down.
Equipment
- 1 Wok or large skillet
- 1 knife and cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch Celery
- 2 packet of smoked tofu this should be roughly 14 ounces of 400g
- 1 handful of spring onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 dried chilies whole
- 1 knob of ginger
- 1 tbsp of chinkiang vinegar
- 1 tbsp of neutral cooking oil I use sunflower oil
- 1 tsp black beans sauce in chili oil Optional – this adds a little spice. I use the Laoganma brand.
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds to serve
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Prepare the celery by slicing it diagonally into long strips.
- Prepare the spring onions and ginger by chopping them into pieces.
- Cut the tofu into small cubes.
- If you don't have toasted sesame seeds on hand, prepare a small skillet on the side and gently heat the sesame seeds. Toss the seeds frequently to make sure they don't burn and take from the heat once golden brown.
Fry the tofu in the wok or skillet
- Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil and let it heat up.
- Once heated, add in the tofu cubes and let them fry for roughly ten to fifteen minutes until golden and crispy on the outside.
- Take the fried tofu out of the wok while keeping the hot oil.
Add in the aromatics and vegetables
- Now add the chilies, cut spring onions, and ginger slices to the wok or skillet. Stir until they become soft and fragrant.
- Add in the celery to the wok. Stir everything to combine, and then continue to cook until the celery becomes wilted and slightly translucent. You can see this by checking the color, it usually changes from a bright green, to a more muted color. Make sure the majority of the celery has reached this consistency and color. It's ideal when the celery has a bit of bite but isn't raw anymore.
Add the sauces
- Once combined, splash the soy sauce and chinkiang vinegar over the wok. This should lead to a lot of steam, use a ladle, wooden spoon or cooking chopsticks (if you have them) to quickly combine everything.
- Now add in the teaspoon of black bean sauce. Use less if you are sensitive to spicy food. Finally, toss the wok to combine everything and serve immediately.
Notes
If you have one, use a wok for this recipe. There's something about woks which just makes stir-fries taste better. Woks allow the ingredients to heat up quickly and brown with less oil, the celery also retains a little more bite, which means more nutrients. However, woks also allow the ingredients to cool down quicker, so if you do use a wok, make sure to serve immediately.
Serve immediately. Textures matter: the crunchy fried exterior of the tofu is a compliment to the fibrous celery. This is why it's so much better to serve this recipe immediately because both the celery and tofu lose their texture when you combine them and wait before serving.
Cut the celery into small pieces. Celery is a vegetable known for its high amount of fiber. Especially the European celery can be quite sturdy. This is why it's important to cut it into bite sized pieces to make sure it's easily edible. If your celery is cut small enough, you won't have to chew on large pieces of it. Small pieces also soak up more of the sauce, which is what brings the taste in this recipe.