Chinese Recipe: Stir-fried Bean Curd with Leeks

Some of the greatest dishes call for really simple ingredients, such as this Hokkien delicacy "Stir-fried Bean Curd with Leeks." While I love fancy Chinese food that entails scarce and expensive ingredients such as abalone, scallops, sea cucumber, and live seafood, sometimes I like my food very plain, simple, yet nostalgic. This Hokkien dish is my mother's specialty and certainly one of my favorite home-cooked food. Of Hokkien descent, my mother has a way of making everyday Hokkien dishes very tasteful. A few years ago, she came to the United States for a visit and taught me how to prepare this dish. While I'd learned most of her skills, I could never reproduce her unique flavors as she does it so well. One valuable tip about making this dish is to make sure that your leeks are uber fresh. The oniony essence will perk up the taste of fried bean curd and with the help of Taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce) and shrimp, you will have a savory dish to go with your steamed white rice. In Penang, there are a few great restaurants that serve this classic Hokkien dish along with some homey-tasting dishes. If you are in Penang and would like to try out restaurants other than Penang hawker food, do check out the following restaurants. Goh Huat Seng Restaurant 59A Lebuh Kimberly 10100 Penang Tel: 04-2615811, 04-2615646 My favorite Chinese restaurant in Penang. The food is excellent and the price is very cheap. Rasa Malaysia recommends stir-fried oysters with taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce), crab rolls, stir-fried spinach with dried fish, braised duck, and their flagship steamboat. Goh Swee Kee Restaurant 5 Jalan Seri Bahari 10500 Penang Tel: 04-263-6932 Rasa Malaysia recommends Teowchew steamed fish and home-made prawn balls. Ang Hoay Lor 5H Jalan Rangoon 10400 Penang Tel: 04-2285378 Rasa Malaysia recommends stir-fried bean curd with leeks (Tau Kua Suan Nah) and noodles fried with oysters. Nan Yang Chinese Cuisine 164 Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Cross Road is Armenia Street) 10200 Penang Tel: 04-2616618 I absolutely love the ambience and decor of this restaurant. The food is not as good as the above restaurants, but Nan Yang restaurant oozes old Penang charm and nostalgia. Click here to see the pictures of this restaurant. Recipe for Stir-fried Bean Curd with Leek: Ingredients: 3 stalks of leek (cut into 2-inch strips) 5 pieces of bean curd (cut into small pieces) 4 cloves of garlic (chopped) 6-8 shrimps 1 teaspoon of taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce) 1 teaspoon of soy sauce Sugar to taste White pepper powder to taste Fry the bean curd pieces to light brown and set aside. In a wok, add oil and stir fry the chopped garlic until golden brown, add in shrimps and the bulbs of the leek. Stir constantly for 1 minute and add in the fried bean curd pieces. Add in all seasoning and the rest of the leek (leafy part) and stir fry for 2 minutes. Serve hot.