Black Bean Pork & Tofu

My husband loves fermented black bean. Not just that, I think he likes all fermented, pickled stuff. Fermented black bean or tausi is a very popular ingredient in his household. I remember my late father-in-law used to order Kakap Tausi (Black Bean Snapper) every time we ate out. Those were wonderful days...

Anyway, yesterday we went to buy this small bottled black bean garlic sauce out of curiosity. I don't remember my mom ever cooked with this yummy sauce, that's why I should try it. So today I whipped up an easy peasy meal that was gone in five minutes. Black Bean Pork and Tofu.


There are few main ingredients including ground pork, black pepper, paprika powder (not here), chayote, tomato, green onion, garlic, evoo (extra virgin olive oil), and off course the firm tofu.


The first thing to do would be to brown the pork in a hot pan glazed with a tablespoon of evoo. It should be nice and done in five minutes on high heat.


Make a little opening on one side of the pan, drizzle two teaspoon of oil from the black bean sauce jar. Then stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Mix evenly with the browned pork.


The smell was very stimulating to one's nostril.

Hubby could not stop sneezing. Was it from the pollen? Flu? Or simply from the devilish aroma of black bean garlic oil? Make a guess.

The next step would be to add in the tomato and chayote. The color combination was just superb. Maybe I should add red bell pepper too...and also the yellow, orange, and green one. Next time...


Once the chayote turned tender but still crisp, and the tomato wilted, we can throw in the diced tofu anc chopped onion. Stir a bit, and add in the yummy black bean garlic sauce. Four teaspoon in all. Don't skimp on it, let the strong flavor tickle your tongue. Oh, smells so yum!


Stir, stir, stir...mix all the goodness for a minute or two over high heat. I bet my neighbors think that a new Chinese restaurant has just opened nearby--the smell is pretty strong at this point. I felt guilty for not sharing it with them.


Serve over warm rice. It's a comfort food.

So comforting, it's gone in five minutes.

Who knows that simple ingredients can be that good, if you like fermented black bean.


Black Bean Pork and Tofu

Ingredients:
1/2 lb lean ground pork
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 package of firm tofu, diced
1/2 chayote, cut into thin strips
1/2 medium sized tomato, diced
2 stalks of green onion, chopped
1 tbs evoo
4 tsp of black bean garlic sauce
1/2 tsp of paprika powder
1/4 tsp of coarsely ground black pepper
salt to taste

Methods:
Heat a frying pan, glazed with evoo, brown the pork for a good five minutes over high heat. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and paprika powder.

Make an opening in the pan, pour in two teaspoon of oil from the black bean sauce jar. Stir fry the garlic in there. Then mix the pork and garlic.

Add in the tomato and chayote, cook until tender but crisp. Then the tofu and green onion can be added in the pan. Mix everything evenly.

The last step would be to add four teaspoon of the black bean sauce, and mix the whole thing together. Keep cooking for another two minutes. Turn off the heat, and serve over white rice.