Because we couldn’t live without it during the lockdown.

It’s named for the lightly crisped fried tofu but the broccoli is the star here, it’s tips sopping up the sauce like a paintbrush and slathering it into your mouth.

Ingredients:

– 1 lb. extra firm tofu
– medium crown fresh broccoli, separated into florets, stems up to 3” long attached
– 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin, tongue-shaped strips
– 1/2 med-large sweet onion sliced into radial wedges
– 2 celery stalks chopped into 3” long pieces with angle-cut edges
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 thumb-sized chunk of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
– 1 large egg
– salt
– soy sauce
– worcestershire sauce
– ketchup
– 1.5 oz. ice cider or 3 oz. medium dry sherry or port

Preparation:

Drain and press the tofu block between 2 plates weighted with a full pot of water. After a few minutes, drain the expressed water, return to press and leave in press while completing prep of other items. Drain and pat dry before cooking.

Steam the broccoli to al dente and still bright green, drain and reserve.

Beat and lightly salt the egg and fry at medium heat in oil folding twice while the top of the omelet is still runny. Remove and slice crosswise into 1/4” strips.

Begin heating 3 tbsp of oil to medium high in wok with garlic and remove the garlic when just translucent but not brown. Remove the garlic to a plate and reserve leaving the infused oil in the wok. Distribute the tofu slices in the wok so that each can fry directly on the metal, adding oil as needed for all to fry, shuffling the wok to keep them from sticking. When underside of slices are lightly browned and crisp, flip them and repeat, then remove from wok and reserve.

Add celery, carrots, and ginger and actively stir-fry until evenly al dente. Add reserved garlic, soy sauce liberally, 3 dashes of worcestershire, 1 tbsp ketchup and ice cider, sherry or port.

Toss, add some water and then stir-in the corn starch solution 1 tbsp.at a time until the liquid reaches a saucy consistency. Add broccoli and onion and toss to drench with sauce and stir-fry until onions are turning translucent but are still crunchy. Add fried tofu pieces and toss to drench with sauce. Cover, remove from burner and let stand for a couple of minutes to warm tofu through.

Serve family style in a shallow serving bowl alongside a bowl of steamed rice.