Rebecca’s Recipe of the Week: Stir-Fried Spinach | Canalside Community Food

This is really good! The bright green spinach looks fabulous against the pale ivory sauce. The fermented tofu gives the dish an intense, creamy flavour, as well as some protein. We ate it with some Szechuan-style fried potatoes (shredded potatoes stir-fried with garlic, ginger and Szechuan pepper, and then doused with soya sauce, sesame oil and rice-wine vinegar mixed with a pinch of sugar) but it would be excellent with plain boiled rice, or accompanying a little pork chop. It’s worth the trouble of seeking out some fermented tofu, which you can buy in the Oriental Supermarket on Bath Street, Leamington.

Stir-fried spinach with chile and fermented tofu
Serves 2

Ingredients
325g spinach
2 cubes white fermented tofu
¼ teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons rapeseed, groundnut or sunflower oil
2 teaspoons finely-chopped garlic
½ fresh red chile, finely sliced

Preparation
Wash and trim the spinach, separating the leaves from the stems. Shred the leaves and chop the stems into 2-inch pieces.

Mash the tofu and sugar with some of the liquid from the tofu jar, to create a mixture with the consistency of double cream.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the spinach stems. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the leaves. After about 30 seconds drain and run under cold water to stop it from cooking further. Squeeze out any excess water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and chile and stir-fry for some seconds until the garlic is fragrant but not burnt. Add the tofu mixture and bring to a boil. Then add the spinach and stir-fry briskly.
When the sauce has been incorporated into the spinach and everything is hot, tip it onto a plate and serve.

Recipe adapted from the Financial Times Magazine, 22/23-Sept. 2018.