Big Stew of Tofu Strips [大煮干丝]

This is a dish from my hometown of YangZhou/JiangSu. Even though it takes painstakingly long to cut the tofu into strips, I still sometimes make it for my family because of the sentimental value it brings to them. Plus, I get to practice my knife skills.

Serves 2 | Prep time is 30 mins | Cook time (excld. prep) is 15 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups of freshly made chicken stock

• 500g (2 pieces) of white dried tofu （白豆腐干）

• 2 bok choys, cut into quarters

• 3 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

• half strip of bacon, thinly sliced (optional)

• salt, 2 tsps+

Steps

1. Cut the tofu into thin slices (as thin as possible), then into strips.

2. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil. Add tofu strips and 1 tsp of salt. Take out tofu strips when the pot comes to boil again. This is to get rid of the raw soy bean flavor from the tofu, which would “ruin” the flavor of the chicken broth if we haven’t done this step.

3. Bring the chicken stock to boil. Add tofu strips, bok choy, shitake mushrooms, and bacon. Close the lid and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve.