(These quantities serve one person, maybe with some leftovers)

Ingredients #

• 1 onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• red sichuan peppercorns
• sesame oil
• bamboo shoots in chili oil
• 1 packet medium-firm tofu
• beyond beef fake meat (NOT beyond beef crumbles, but some other fake meats may work well too)
• 3 fresh shitake mushrooms
• shaoxing cooking wine
• premium oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
• chili bean paste (doubanjiang -- I had a Cantonese type on hand, though Sichuan variants may be better)
• corriander leaves or spring onion

Methodology #

Start jasmine rice in a rice cooker.

Chop:

• an onion, coarser grain (~1x1cm squares)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, fine
• grind a tablespoon of red sichuan peppercorns
• whole red chilis may be good too, but I didn't have any!

Heat a large pan or wok, and add:

• ~2 tablespoons sesame oil
• a heaped tablespoon of bamboo shoots in chili oil

Once hot toss the garlic, sichuan pepper and onions into the pan, and cook to infuse into the oil and toast a little

While cooking, chop:

• a block of medium-firm tofu into satisfyingly sized cubes,
• remove stems from 3 fresh shitake mushrooms and slice into satisfying thinish slices

Once the garlic/chili/onion is slightly toasted, add:

• a long dash of shaoxing cooking wine
• later you can add a dash of red wine (mine might have been vinegar-y, so taste at the end to see if the dish wants some acid)

(you're now cooking at a lower temperature because of the liquid)

Then add:

• the tofu and mushrooms
• a heaped tablespoon of chili bean paste
• 1/3 of a serve (150g) of beyond beef fake meat chop first or break up with a wooden spoon
• a good pour of oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce

Cook on medium or low-medium heat (not too much maillard reaction) until the rice is ready

Then stir a heaped teaspoon of corn starch into some warm water, and mix into the tofu

Taste and make final adjustments to quantities of oyster sauce, acid/vinegar, cooking wine, chili.

Serve over the rice, garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro), or spring onion
if you want to be traditional.