Fermented Tofu!? It’s not as weird as it sounds. Especially when it comes to Chinese stir fried water spinach.
Stir-Fried green leaf vegetables are an essential part of the Chinese menu, whether back home in the US or here in China. These days, all kinds of Chinese vegetables are readily available in Asian markets scattered around American suburbs.
A favorite, often served in restaurants, is Chinese water spinach. They’re hollow-stemmed vegetables, with different varieties that grow in water. The most common variety found in markets, however, are grown in regular soil.
The most common way to cook these green leafy vegetables is with oil, garlic and salt. But for a change of pace, another traditional way to cook these is with fermented tofu and stir fried water spinach is one of those dishes.
Fermented tofu is a condiment, often compared to cheese, that’s made by fermenting soy bean curd. It has a great savory flavor. It’s actually not all that exotic when it really comes down to it, so don’t be afraid to try it! Find out more about it in our Chinese ingredients glossary.
Recipe Instructions
Remove the larger, tough stems from these hollow stem water spinach vegetables. You can leave the thinner, tender stems.
Wash the vegetables thoroughly in water (a couple soaks and rinses should work) and transfer to a colander to let the excess water drain.
Prepare the other ingredients, so that they’re ready to go when you’re cooking.
Heat oil in a wok over high heat and add the ginger.
Stir for about 10 seconds and then add the dried red chili peppers, garlic, fermented tofu, sugar, salt, and white pepper.
Stir fry the mixture, keeping the heat on high…
…And add the greens.
Stir-fry, moving the vegetables around the bottom of the wok so nothing burns. Use a folding motion, stir fry the mixture so all of the vegetables get seared evenly.
After about a minute of this, move the vegetables into a mound in the middle of the wok. This technique is to allow the sides of the wok to reheat to get the “wok hay” flavor in there.
After about 30 seconds of high heat, add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok and quickly spread your vegetable mound in a circular motion around the wok to get that searing “wok hay” effect for another 15-30 seconds.
Plate and serve your stir fried water spinach right away!
Stir Fried Water Spinach with Fermented Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Chinese water spinach (about 10 ounces/300g)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 to 4 thin slices ginger (julienned)
- 4 to 5 dried chili peppers (optional)
- 1 to 4 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 2 squares white fermented tofu (about ½ tablespoon)
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
Instructions
- Remove the larger, tough stems from the vegetables. You can leave the thinner, tender stems. Wash the vegetables thoroughly in water (a couple soaks and rinses should work) and transfer to a colander to let the excess water drain.
- Heat oil in a wok over high heat and add the ginger. Stir for about 10 seconds and then add the dried chilies, garlic, fermented tofu, sugar, salt, and white pepper.
- Stir fry the mixture, keeping the heat on high, and add the greens. Stir-fry, moving the vegetables around the bottom of the wok so nothing burns. Use a folding motion, stir fry the mixture so all of the vegetables get seared evenly. After about a minute of this, move the vegetables into a mound in the middle of the wok. This technique is to allow the sides of the wok to reheat to get the “wok hay” flavor in there.
- After about 30 seconds of high heat, add the wine around the perimeter of the wok and quickly spread your vegetable mound in a circular motion around the wok to get that searing “wok hay” effect for another 15-30 seconds.
- Plate and serve immediately.
Great recipe! Just a question, is it possible to substitute the fermented tofu for miso paste?
This is a dish I had many times(at restaurants…) and really didn’t like much… but the ong choi looked so good at the farmer’s market that I decided to pick some up and give it another try. I already had everything else at home(bean curd was red, but nothing to stop me…). It was awesome and now it’s my wife’s new favorite. Mahalos!
This recipe really brings me back to my childhood. My mom would cook this for us and I LOVED it. Thank you for sharing. These greens just became legal again in GA and I followed your recipe minus ginger and chilis just based on my preference. I took a photo and sent it to my mom to show her! Thanks again!
I just bought a bottle of preserved beancurd (I think its white tofu..)
So happy I am going to cook this recipe tomorrow after getting the green leaves!
Do you have a video version of this? English is not my first language and I would like to learn the stir fry technique and wok hei.
Thank you <3
Hi Mentari, we don’t have a video but will work on one soon ;-)
Yum! I used to have this at restaurants. I could never figure out the English name of this vegetable. Thanks for providing this recipe!
Hi Doris, now you can cook it at home :)
Another tasty winner! Thank you :)
Hi Shawm, glad you enjoyed it!
Made this recipe tonight and it was a hit! At first I was not sure if the amount of veggie was too much but it cooked down a lot. It came out a tad too salty, I think because the tofu-ru had salt in it (it was homemade by some friends). The umami the sauce had was out of this world!
Hi David, it is amazing how much veggies cook down in a wok! The salt level across different brands of furu does vary. It’s generally quite salty, so def take care in how much you add ;-)
My mouth waters looking at this dish, I love water spinach, grew up eating it in Mauritius. It’s difficult to find in UK
Miss it 😢
Hi Saras, hopefully you find it locally soon as Asian leafy green vegetables are becoming more available everywhere.
Made this last night, and it was perfectly yummy. I ate the whole thing myself. Thanks!
You’re welcome Cheryl, glad you enjoyed it!
Gosh, I really love this stuff! Made it again tonight, and it occurred to me that the flavor profile is very similar to the Italian way with leafy greens (well, except for the ginger): garlic, red pepper, a slug of wine, and the fermented bean curd packs the same umami punch as good Parmigiano Reggiano, just added at a different point in the cooking process. Thank you again.
Hi Cheryl, you’re welcome and thank you for your thoughtful comment!