This spiced tofu stir-fry with garlic chives is a new favorite in our house. I’ve made it three times in the last couple weeks!
What Are Garlic Chives?
Garlic chives, also known as Chinese chives, are different from the run-of-the-mill chives you might be familiar with.
They have broader leaves and distinctive garlicky flavor. I love them for their aroma, not just in dumpling fillings, like our Pork & Chive Dumplings, but also in stir-fries.
Garlic chives are part of the allium family (which also includes garlic, onions, scallions, etc.), and according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, these vegetables/plants can warm your insides and strengthen your constitution after a cool and damp spring!
Growing Garlic Chives (Chinese Chives)
I also love them because I get them for free from my flowerbeds year after year! In fact, they grow so well that Bill’s sister complains she can’t get rid of them fast enough! If you’re facing a similar problem, this post is for you.
Chives are a great vegetable to plant, because deer and small animals don’t like eating it. You can harvest it by cutting it down, and it will grow back like grass––throughout the entire growing season. They also produce beautiful white flowers that, aside from being decorative, are also edible! (Check out our chive flower tempura recipe.)
It’s also a perennial, coming back year after year. If you know someone who has some in their garden, ask for some, and transplant it!
What You Can Make with Garlic Chives
Here’s a list of dishes you can make with garlic chives:
- Chinese Chives with Eggs
- Pork Chive Dumplings
- Chive Boxes
- Chili Chive Frittata
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Vegetable Dumplings
But don’t limit yourself to these ideas!
Today’s recipe for spice tofu stir-fry with garlic chives is something I just whipped up. Feel free to make adjustments to this dish as well. You can substitute tofu sheets, and add julienned pork or chicken. Simply marinate the meat as you would in our Spiced Tofu with Pork Stir-fry.
What Is Spiced Tofu?
The type of tofu (AKA bean curd) this recipe calls for is pre-cooked, spiced tofu that has been pressed to remove moisture. The spiced version is brown on the outside, and pale on the inside.
You may also find a plain version that’s lighter in color. In Chinese, this type of tofu is called doufu gan (豆腐干). You’ll find it in the refrigerated section of your Chinese grocery store, near other refrigerated tofu products.
Spiced Tofu Stir-fry with Garlic Chives: Recipe Instructions
Start by preparing the stir-fry sauce mixture (the dish cooks very fast, so it’s best to have these items measured out in advance). Combine the wine, light soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil. Set aside.
(At this point, if using pork or chicken, you’d preheat the wok until it was smoking, add a tablespoon of oil, and then sear the meat until just cooked. Remove to a bowl and set aside. If not, move on to the next step.)
Place a wok over medium heat. When the wok has heated, add the oil and the ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, and add the garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the tofu, and stir-fry for another minute.
Turn up the heat to high, add the garlic chives, and stir-fry for 1 minute (at this point, you can also add your pre-cooked meat, if using).
Add the sauce mixture, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
Season with salt to taste. The dish is done once the chives are wilted.
Serve immediately.
Spiced Tofu Stir-Fry with Garlic Chives
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 slices ginger (julienned)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 pieces spiced tofu (about 170g/6 ounces, julienned)
- 300 g garlic chives (about 10 ounces, cut into 1.5 inch lengths)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Start by preparing the stir-fry sauce mixture. Combine the wine, light soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- (At this point, if using pork or chicken, you’d preheat the wok until it was smoking, add a tablespoon of oil, and then sear the meat until just cooked. Remove to a bowl and set aside. If not, move on to the next step.)
- Place a wok over medium heat. When the wok has heated, add the oil and the ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, and add the garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the tofu, and stir-fry for another minute. Turn up the heat to high, add the garlic chives, and stir-fry for 1 minute (at this point, you can also add your pre-cooked meat, if using). Add the sauce mixture, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Season with salt to taste. The dish is done once the chives are wilted. Serve immediately.
I’ve been using your recipes every day this week since I only recently discovered this treasure trove! I’ve made this twice this week and it’s so good.
One question – the garlic chives I get from the local Chinese market come with small flower buds, but the buds are kind of wilted. I’ve been snipping them off, but would you cook them along with the dish?
Thanks!
Welcome to our site, Alex! The flower buds on the garlic chives are edible. BTW, what you bought is the hearts/stems of the garlic chives. See this Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork (Cang Ying Tou – 苍蝇头). The garlic chives in this recipe are just the leaves.
Can I substitute the garlic chives with something else? This dish sounds great but I don’t like garlic chives. Maybe scallion or leaks?
Hi Piroska, you can use thinly julienned leek.
My first time cooking garlic chives and what a great success. Really delicious. Will try to grow some. Thanks!
You are very welcome, Mica :-)
I cooked this for lunch and dinner yesterday. It was delicious. It will be something that we be a staple in my house. Very easy to cook, delicious, simple and healthy. Bonus: it’s keto friendly.
So glad you liked it. That’s what I am cooking for dinner tonight too :-)
This looks delicious. Can you tell me which brand of white pepper you prefer. I’ve bought some in Chinatown & either it’s way too strong or I need a LOT of pepper. Is the Chinese chives the same as the one with the knob at its end?
Also, hate to be rude, but with all of that hot oil which must be splashing sometimes, how do you clean-up? Hate for my stove, floors to smell like strong cleaners & am getting too old to do a lot of scraping and scrubbing! Or maybe I can stir-fry in a tall soup pot. Anyway. Peace.
Hi LI, I don’t follow any particular brand of white pepper powder. Especially these days, I’ll take what I can get. :-) As for the Chinese chives, you can see them pictured in the post!
Hmmmm yummy its finger licking good…😊😊
I love it too!
Does this look like the right tofu? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LMUOCXC
Yes, except they are spiced.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. We have these growing everywhere! I am glad to have a use for them because I don’t seem to be able to get rid of it. Thanks for the recipe!
You are very welcome, I know what you’re talking about––they are coming in fast and fierce :-)
In the pic showing 2 hands cutting garlic chives in the garden —- what is the name of the plant behind – these plants are green and look like green flowers – with 5 to 7 or 8 petals per plant. Thank you.
I suspect that it’s Sweet Woodruff (Waldmeister in German).
Consider the picture in this link:
https://www.rareroots.com/products/galium-odoratum
I tried to grow it in California, without success, years ago. I think it needs a cool, damp environment.
Joe