BBQ Pork With Tofu and Pea Pods in Hot Bean Sauce

This is a dish I developed with my chef when I still owned my restaurant. It's easy enough to make your own Chinese bbq pork (most Chinese cookbooks have recipes) but I almost always buy it in Chinatown; it can make a mess of your oven if you do it yourself. The hot bean sauce comes in cans and keeps for a long time refrigerated. (Transfer to a plastic container with a tight cove

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 1  cup  sliced Chinese barbecue pork (, buy in China-town or make your own)
•  firm tofu, sliced domino size
• 1  cup  pea pods, strings removed
•  oil (vegetable, Canola, peanut)
•  cornstarch, in a little water (for binder)
• 3  drops  sesame oil

• Seasonings

• 1 -3  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon  minced ginger
• 2  minced shredded scallions or 2  minced shredded scallions
• 1  teaspoon  szechuan hot bean sauce

• Sauce

• 1 -2  teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon dry sherry
•  salt (optional)
• 1  pinch sugar
•  hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup  chicken stock
•  extra  hot sauce (as desired)

Directions

1. Have a pot of boiling water handy when starting to cook this recipe.
2. Keep a bowl handy lined with a sieve.
3. When ready to start cooking carefully put the tofu into the boiling water.
4. Heat wok to smoking; add a tablespoon or two of oil and stir in seasonings.
5. (Note: if the wok looks too dry during cooking, just add a little more oil by pouring it directly onto the hot metal).
6. As soon as the seasonings start to give off a pungent aroma add the bbq pork and stir fry for 2- 3 minutes to coat with oil and seasonings and to heat through.
7. Add the pea pods and continue stirring until they're hot.
8. Pour the tofu into a colander or sieve and let it drain while you continue the recipe.
9. Give the sauce ingredients a good stir and pour into the wok, trying to hit the metal surface rather than the contents.
10. When it starts to bubble thicken it with a little of the binder.
11. (The secret is to just draw the sauce together without making it gummy).
12. Stir in a few drops of the sesame oil.
13. Very carefully stir and toss in the tofu.
14. Serve immediately on a heated platter with steamed rice.