Crumbled tofu and beef stir-fry with asparagus
Crumbled tofu stretches eight ounces of ground beef to four plates, and browns in the fat the beef leaves behind.
At a Glance
Story
Crumbled firm tofu, patted dry, cooks like a second batch of mince. It has to lose its surface water before it can brown, which is why it gets the skillet to itself for five minutes once the beef has come out. The beef leaves its rendered fat behind, the tofu drinks it up as it colors, and by the end it has picked up a good deal of the beef's flavor. That is how eight ounces of beef stretches to four plates without anyone at the table feeling short-changed.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp chicken brothlow-sodium
- 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 tsp sugarturbinado or granulated
- ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp neutral oilsafflower or sunflower
- 8 oz ground beef80 percent lean
- 4 scallionsthinly sliced, plus more to finish (about ½ cup)
- 8 oz firm tofucrumbled and patted dry with paper towels (about 1½ cups)
- 12 oz asparagustrimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces (out of season, green beans or snap peas, cut the same)
- 3 garlic clovesminced
- 1 tbsp gingerpeeled and minced
- saltpepper
- steamed ricefor serving
- hot saucefor serving (optional)
Method
The cooking takes fifteen minutes, nearly all of it at a hard sizzle. Have the sauce whisked and everything chopped before the pan goes on, because there is no pause once it starts.
Asparagus is a spring vegetable, and the rest of the year the bundles have traveled a long way and taste of it. That is when green beans or snap peas take its place.
- In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the beef and ¼ cup of the scallions, season with salt and pepper and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 3 minutes. Lift the beef onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan. The tofu wants it.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the tofu, season and cook, stirring now and then, until the tofu is dry and golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add the asparagus, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Snap peas take the same time. Green beans take longer, so give them 3 minutes on their own first, then add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 minutes more.
- Return the beef and any juices on the plate. Whisk the sauce again, since the cornstarch sinks to the bottom while it waits, then pour it in and stir until it has been absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup scallions.
- Tip it onto a serving dish, scatter over more scallions and serve with warm rice, and hot sauce on the side for anyone who wants it.
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