Dried Tofu, Celery & Peanuts 芹菜豆干花生米

Ah dried tofu, an odd kind of food really, it's like sweet little squares of edible rubber.  Despite that sounding rather unappetizing, it is surprisingly far from it. Add some Chinese spices, a few other marble sized editions and you have one challenging dish to get your chopsticks into!  Usually eaten at the start of a Chinese meal while you are waiting for the hot dishes to arrive, this little baby brings back fond memories of giant food halls, bustling waiters and ice cold beer.

Dried Tofu, Celery & Peanuts   芹菜豆干花生米 

Ingredients:

1 cup raw peanuts

2 star anise

1 tsp Sichuan pepper corn powder (found in most Asian Grocery Stores)

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

5-6 squares of dried tofu, cut into small bite size pieces

4 sticks of celery, cut into small bite size pieces

2-3 large cloves of garlic

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Sesame oil

Method:

Wash the peanuts and put them in a saucepan along with three times their amount in water.

Add the star anise, Sichuan pepper corn powder, salt, sugar and soy sauce, then bring to the boil and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until most of the water has been absorbed.  Drain the remaining liquid, remove the star anise and set aside.

Put the chopped celery and tofu into a pot of water and bring to the boil - let boil for about a minute then drain under cold water.

Mix the drained tofu, celery and peanuts together, then add the garlic, salt, sugar and a good few drops of sesame oil and mix it all together.

Let it sit for a while for the flavours to mix, serve at room temperature and let the chop stick fun commence!