If you want something savory, nutritious and satisfying yet also quick and easy as your weeknight dinner, I'd highly recommend this pork and tofu stir fry for you. With a few simple steps you can enjoy a delicious meal in 20 minutes!
Pork and tofu stir fry is my grandfather's favorite dish, we'd eat it almost every time when we visited my grandparents. He told me that in the past, they couldn't afford eating so much meat, so they stir fried a little bit of pork with a bunch of dougan (a firm variety of tofu), and since dougan has protein and looks and taste kind of like meat, it's a good meat replacement.
This dish is still very popular today because tofu is good for you. Additionally, the combination of the flavors, the contrast of the textures between tofu and meat, and the ease of making this dish have made it commonplace at dinner times in homes across Taiwan. This dish also goes very well with rice, especially when you drizzle a bit of chili oil on it, it's simple yet delicious!
Why You Should Try This Dish
- It's a classic Taiwanese dish that's loved by many people.
- It's a perfect weeknight dinner that only takes 20 minutes to make.
- You can easily modify/customize this dish by adding veggies or spices according to your taste.
Ingredients You'll Need
Notes
- Tofu (dougan) - For this recipe we need a kind of very firm tofu called 豆干 (dougan) in Chinese. You can usually find it in your local Asian grocery store. Try to buy one that's not too hard and rubbery. My favorite one is this brand, which is tender and aromatic.
- Pork loin - You can also use pork tenderloin or some other cut of pork of your choice.
How to Make this Dish
Step 1 - Prepare pork
Slice pork loin into ⅓ inch thick before cutting it into ⅓ inch wide matchsticks.
Toss the pork with marinading ingredients and set it aside.
Step 2 - Prepare tofu
Boil tofu in salted water for around 2 minutes and then take it out to cool down until it's cold enough to handle.
Carefully slice each tofu in half horizontally from the side before slicing vertically into matchsticks.
Step 3 - Prepare scallions and gather all other ingredients.
Cut scallions into 4 sections and slice the white part into halves lengthwise, so that the flavor can be released faster when cooking.
Step 4 - Cook
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add tofu, garlic, and the white and light green parts of the scallion into the pan, cook until tofu starts to brown, about 3 minutes.
Push tofu and scallion to the side and add pork into the pan. Cook and stir until the pork starts to turn white before mixing everything together.
Add cooking wine, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce (if using), white pepper powder and the remaining green part of scallion into the pan, stir and cook for 30 seconds before adding ⅓ cup of water and a pinch of salt.
Stir and cook until the liquid almost dries up then taste to see if it needs more salt.
Step 5 - Serve
When it's done cooking, remove the pan from the heat and serve warm with rice.
This dish goes perfectly with rice, especially with a bit of chili oil. Once you try it, I believe this is something you'd want to make again and again!
If you like more quick and easy dish like this, make sure you also try my Steamed Egg with Minced Pork, Taiwanese Minced Pork with Pickled Cucumber and Easy Scallion Shrimp & Egg Rice Bowl.
Variations
Here are some popular variations for you to try:
- With celery - Slice one rib of celery thinly at a 45° angle and stir in before adding water.
- With cilantro - Cut a small bunch of cilantro into a similar length with the pork and tofu and mix it in at the end before serving. You can either keep the scallion or omit it if adding cilantro.
- With doubanjiang - Omit the oyster sauce and add 2 teaspoon of doubanjiang (spicy or regular) instead.
Tips and Tricks
- It's easier to cut the pork when it's half frozen. If the pork is not frozen, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes before cutting.
- Pre-cooking the tofu in salted water makes the tofu a bit more tender and won't break easily while cooking.
- Feel free to adjust the ratio of pork and tofu based on your preference.
- Adding water at the end helps the flavors to blend together and ensures that the flavor gets into the tofu, so don't skip it!
Recipe FAQs
While this kind of brown tofu works the best, if you really can't find it, five spice tofu and super firm tofu are both acceptable options.
Yes, this dish freezes very well! You can reheat with microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Hope you enjoy this dish & happy cooking!
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Pork and Tofu Stir-Fry (豆干炒肉絲)
Ingredients
- ½ lb pork loin, or another cut of your choice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 pinch Chinese five-spice powder
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 6-8 tofu (dougan), see note
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 stalk scallion
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine (michiu)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce , optional, manily for color
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper powder
- oyster sauce, 1 tsp
- salt
Instructions
Prepare pork
- Slice pork loin into ⅓ inch thick before cutting it into ⅓ inch wide matchsticks.
- In a bowl, toss the pork with soy sauce, Chinese five-spice powder and corn starch together and finally mix in sesame oil. Cover the pork and set it aside.
Prepare tofu
- Boil tofu in salted water for around 2 minutes and then take it out to cool down until it's cold enough to handle.
- Carefully slice each tofu in half horizontally from the side before slicing vertically into matchsticks.
- Cut scallions into 4 sections and slice the white part into halves lengthwise, so that the flavor can be released faster when cooking.
Cook
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add tofu, garlic, and the white and light green parts of the scallion into the pan, cook until tofu starts to brown, about 3 minutes.
- Push tofu and scallion to the side and add pork into the pan. Cook and stir until the pork starts to turn white before mixing everything together.
- Add cooking wine, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce (if using), white pepper powder and the remaining green part of scallion into the pan, stir and cook for 30 seconds before adding ⅓ cup of water and a pinch of salt.
- Stir and cook until the liquid almost dries up then taste to see if it needs more salt.
- When it's done cooking, remove the pan from the heat and serve warm with rice.
Notes
- For this recipe we need a kind of very firm tofu called 豆干 (dougan) in Chinese. You can usually find it in your local Asian grocery store. Try to buy one that's not too hard and rubbery. My favorite one is this brand, which is tender and aromatic.
- It's easier to cut the pork when it's half frozen. If the pork is not frozen, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes before cutting.
- Pre-cooking the tofu in salted water makes the tofu a bit more tender and won't break easily while cooking.
- Feel free to adjust the ratio of pork and tofu based on your preference.
- Adding water at the end helps the flavors to blend together and ensures that the flavor gets into the tofu, so don't skip it!
I used to always choose this dish or a very similar one at a small Asian restaurant near the Potomac River in Maryland. For years I've searched for another restaurant that serves it or for the recipe with no luck. How I've missed it! Tried this recipe last night and was so happy I'd found it. THANK YOU!
That's wonderful Eileen! Now you can make it whenever you want 😀