Taro, Tofu and Mushroom Stir-fry

This is one of the easiest dishes I have ever prepared... and with only 4 major ingredients, too!

The secret to the dish is a good XO sauce!

Basically saute onions, garlic and ginger.  Add a tablespoon of XO sauce and let the sauce cook for several seconds.  Add the taro (sliced into thick strips) and stir fry until almost done.  Throw in cubed tofu (1 big block of tofu) and mushrooms (any kind you prefer is fine) and stir fry some more.  Adjust seasonings and then you're done!

Seaweed Tofu in (Homemade) XO Sauce

Last Christmas, a dear friend gave me a wonderful gift... homemade XO sauce.  She told me that it was the best ever and it was great even if used solely in any dish.

Well, of course I wanted to test it out. And this dish would showcase that claim well...

The verdict?  Yes, it is very, very good.  It is the best I've tasted!

The dish is so simple but you wouldn't know it from its taste using the XO sauce friend C gave!

Just slice 2 cubes of seaweed tofu into cubes or slices.  Marinate in a tablespoon or two of light soy sauce for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Then saute onions and garlic with a spoonful of the XO sauce.  Throw the tofu in and stir gently until the tofu is coated with XO sauce and heated through.

Done!

Thanks, Friend C!

XO Crab Sotanghon

When A-te J bought crabs from the wet market the other day, we had a lively debate on how to cook the crabs...  I wanted the saucy, milky dish like the one at Fuk Yuen.  Hubby wanted the spicy Singaporean-style crab.  Lola wanted just plain steamed crabs.  A-te wanted the dry, stir-fry type.

We ended up with this variation that used X.O. Sauce.

This is really the same recipe as before, with 2 changes - we omitted the pork and added 1 heaping spoon of XO sauce!   The XO Sauce gave the dish a bit of a kick and an enhanced flavor profile.  The omission of the ground pork was good too since the crab flavor was better (no interfering flavor?)

Hubby said this was the best version yet!

Yummmmmmy!

XO Braised Straw Mushrooms with Shrimp & Crabstick

This is actually a variation of my favorite Seafood and Mushroom Medley.  Basically, it's a simpler (scaled down) version.  The original medley uses an extensive mix of seafood and mushrooms, but this simple version is just with shrimp, crabstick and straw mushrooms.  What sets it apart is the XO sauce, which is a spicy seafood-based condiment in Chinese cooking.

We got the fresh straw mushrooms from the weekend market.

Here's the recipe:

about 300 to 400 grams fresh shrimps, cleaned and shelled
5 pieces crabsticks (sashimi quality)
500 grams fresh straw mushrooms

1 thumb of ginger, sliced thinly
1 small onion, minced finely
2 to 3 teaspoons XO sauce, or to taste
1 tbsp. glutinous rice wine
2 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tbsp. premium oyster sauce
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
cornstarch slurry

Saute ginger and onions.  Add XO sauce and stir fry a few seconds.  Add the shrimps.  Splash with rice wine. When the shrimps are halfway done, add the mushrooms.

Season with soy sauce and and oyster sauce, as welll as salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer a few minutes.  The mixture should turn "soupy" (from the mushrooms), otherwise, add some hot water or vegetable stock.  Add the crabstick; stir gently until the crabstick breaks apart.  Thicken with cornstarch slurry.  Adjust seasonings.

As always, I recommend being cautious with sauces (soy and oyster, or even the XO sauce) because different brands may have different levels or saltiness, spiciness, etc.  It is always better to season lightly and add if it needs it because it is really difficult to reduce or fix excessive flavors.