110. Simple recipe: stir fried garlic bolt with tofu and carrot

Chinese stir fried garlic bolt with tofu

A ‘late night’ recipe. :))) Well, at least, it is late over here in England. And I only just started writing today’s post. What have I been doing the whole day? I blame time passes too fast. A bit reading, a bit housework, a bit writing, a bit watching the sun and doing nothing, oh and eating, and cooking dinner, then that is a day. Feel a bit weird of just thinking of cooking at this late night. :))

Ok, as I said in yesterday’s post, today I will talk about a recipe with garlic bolt, simply stir fried with tofu and carrot. It is really really simple, can be cooked within 5 mins. And the method -- is a real typical stir-fry.

As I said in the previous post, I think if you cannot find garlic bolt, Spanish ‘ajos tiernos’ is a good replacement. As for the tofu, it is different to the normal fresh tofu I normally use. This one is called ‘tofu gan’ in Chinese, as in ‘dried tofu‘. Sometimes, it is also called  ‘pressed tofu‘. It normally comes in two flavors: plain and five spices flavor. I would like to use plain ones, but I only found the spiced ones in the supermarket; they also do a great job. But what I wanted to say is that you don’t have to particularly look for this ‘dried beancurd’ if you want to try this recipe; most of the tofu you can buy in regular supermarkets is also good, as such tofu is normally very very very firm, or just braised.

Read more »

Commom ingredient: Garlic bolt

Chinese garlic bolt

Image source: http://www.hometownseeds.com/herb-seeds-c-3?zenid=f80c01c47632e02eaacc3043380cf391

Garlic bolt is a very common ingredients in Chinese cuisine. But because it is mostly suitable for simple stir-fried dishes, it is not usually served in big or fancy restaurants. It is also not easy to find here in UK supermarkets. In most Chinese supermarkets, however, you can get them at reasonable price, and they are normally imported from China.

My husband has suggested that I should only share some recipes with common ingredients which can be easily found in normal supermarkets, so I have held the recipes with garlic bolt for a long while. (But it is one of my favorite vegetables, I could not wait to share!) This time I got encouraged by a Spanish friend. When we were in Spain for Xmas holiday, we decided to invite some friends over for a homemade Chinese meal. I wanted it to be very ‘Chinese’, so we went down to the Chinese supermarkets in Valencia. I was so excited to find garlic bolt, so needless to say, immediately grabbed a bunch. Guess what, although I cooked several ‘more sophisticated’ dishes, the simple stir-fried garlic bolt dish was the favorite of our friends.

Garlic bolt in Chinese is called ‘Suan tai’ or ‘Suan hao’ in some of the Northeast regions. It is said that it part of the stem of garlic flower. It does taste ‘garlic..ish’, but not strong, rather fresh and pleasant. It is very nutritious: rich in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium, etc. In Chinese medicine, it is said that garlic bolt has properties for controlling lipids, preventing coronary heart disease, and it is also good for sterilizing, relieving hemorrhoids…

Read more »