Canh dau hu he (tofu chives soup)

As you know I haven’t been blogging much (well not at all) anymore, but I’d like to give you an update of what is going on. Since I stared running I’ve been able to lose 6 kilos in total! I’m still trying to get rid of the last couple of kilos, which are the hardest but I’m heading in the right direction. I’m on 58 right now and my goal is 55. I know it won’t make me happier, but it will for sure make me feel better about myself.

There is no secret in losing weight and unfortunately there is no easy way to do it either. It’s something everyone knows, but so it’s hard to follow. All you need is to eat less and to exercise more. Easier said then done for sure.

To loose the weight I had to cut back on carbs (only one carb meal a day, which for me is two sandwiches for lunch) and have as less carbs as possible for dinner. Sometimes a bit more and sometimes a bit less.

And I’m running at least twice a week for 45 minutes per run. If possible every other day would be even better, but with the Dutch weather that is not always possible. No running in the rain for me.

I eat a lot of veggies and salads and cut out most fried food. And I drink lots of water, at least 2 litters a day. No snacking…well ok every once a while in a blue moon…you’ve got to live a little right?

I just love soups and it’s something I can eat every day. I pack mine with lots of veggies and some kind of protein; minced pork, beef or chicken.

This is soup is inspired by some freshly grown Chinese chives. My mom grows them in their back yard and ask me to take some home. These plants are so strong, they keep coming back, even after the cold cold Dutch winters.

It’s one of the easiest and fastest soup you can make and not only that, it’s also sort of healthy for you. At least that’s what I think =)

You can make the stock with all kinds of meat, but I prefer pork. It’s what I grew up with so that’s what I’m using. My mom usually make it with thinly sliced pork, but since I had some pork ribs I used that.

For this soup you need:

-          some pork (ribs or whatever you have at hand)

-          salt, pepper

-          1 fresh tofu

-          handful Chinese chives

-          1 tomato (I didn’t had one, but if I had I would put it in)

-          2 beaten eggs

I cooked the pork ribs with some salt and pepper till tender. If I had a tomato I would quarter it and add that at this point. To have a clear broth I scooped the foam off a couple of times.

You can cut the tofu anyway you like (mine were square) and add it to the broth. Boil everything till the tofu is cooked.

I stirred in the eggs to get egg threads and just before I was ready to serve I added the chives.

All I had to do then was to boil it for a couple of seconds and it was dinner time.

For some extra flavour I sprinkled some spring onions on the top. I ate the soup just the way it is, but for those who love their carbs, you can also eat it with rice.

Enjoy!

Dau hu nhoi thit (stuffed tofu in tomato sauce)

My family LOVES tofu and we often eat them crispy fried with some Maggi sauce. Just straight out of the pan, piping hot, dipped in Maggi and straight in our mouths. It is delicious! And so easy. One time this was all we eat for dinner and we were very happy about it. It’s quite filling so we didn’t have room for more food even if we wanted.

This dish is one of my boehoe’s favorite. He loves everything about it, maybe you do to after you made it. I always make it one day ahead so the tofu can suck in all those nice flavors.

I used:

- 2 big fresh tofu (not the silken tofu)

- onions

- garlic (fresh and powder)

- minced meat (half pork, half beef)

- dried wood ear mushrooms

- dried glass noodles

- tomatoes

- tomato paste

- bouillon cube

- sesame oil

- oyster sauce

- salt, pepper, sugar, Maggi sauce

I cut the tofu in about 1,5 cm and fried them till they were golden. Well actually my boehoe fried them. You can either use them right away or the next day. I prefer to use them the next day because the tofu is firmer then.

With a little knife I carefully made an incision, just enough to have room for the meat. I usually go all the way through till I hit the other side, but not slice it through.

Now it looks like a little tofu bag. I continued slicing all the fried tofu.

I just love wood ear mushrooms. They don’t particularly taste like anything and are the ugliest mushrooms I’ve ever seen, but I grew up with them. I love the little crunch it gives. I always soak them in hot water till they are soft. This takes a couple of minutes.

I chopped one big onion, a couple of clove of garlic and the wood ear mushrooms. Then I added the minced meat and the glass noodles which I soaked in warm water for a bit and cut them smaller with a scissor.  

Then I sprinkled some salt, lots of fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, some dashes of sesame oil and oyster sauce.

I dug in there to make sure everything was evenly mixed. I use this mixture for everything. It’s great in some puff pastry, it’s awesome stuffing for bitter melon and goes great with stuffed Chinese cabbage (will be next on the to make list).

While my hands were dirty I opened the tofu pouches and stuffed them with as much meat as I could. I just had to make sure the tofu holds up and not split.

In a non stick pan I added a bit of oil and started with browning the meat top on first. After the meat is nice and seared I flipped them on the tofu side. Then on the other side and they were done. Well almost done.

I remember the first time I made this, my boehoe asked if he could eat it and I was like what? It needs to be cooked in a tomato sauce first. That was quite strange for him as him mom always stops here. I guess you could’ve stop here, but then you’ll have to make sure the meat inside the tofu cooks proper. As I was still cooking them I only needed the meat to brown.

For my tomato sauce I used a mixture of fresh tomatoes (lots of them) and one little can of tomato paste, just to intensify the tomato flavor. I started with browning some onion and garlic. Then I added the tomatoes and one bouillon cube.

There is my tomato paste!

After the paste was mixed I added 3 cups of water, some salt, pepper, sugar and Maggi sauce. I like the flavor the Maggi sauce gives to the tomato mixture.

Then it was time for the stuffed tofu to take a dive…in this divine sauce.

The next day they simmered for another 30 minutes and they were ready. I normally top them with some spring onion and cilantro, but I didn’t have any spring onions left.

Today we ate it with some stir fried water spinach and plain white rice. The tofu soaked up all that nice sauce. We all started with 2 stuffed tofu, but that wasn’t enough.

 

My boehoe went back to snack on some more stuffed tofu, no rice, no veggies…can you blame him?

There’s still plenty for tomorrow's meal. So guess what’s on the menu then…one very happy boehoe!