Five-Spice Braised Shiitake and Tofu
Tofu and shiitake braised low in a dark five-spice broth until they've drunk up the sauce. That's the whole trick, and it's exactly why this gets better overnight.
Why it works
A braise is the best make-ahead move for tofu there is, full stop. What ruins stored tofu is drying out, and here it just sits in liquid, absorbing more by the hour. Shiitake mushrooms are pulling double duty: flavour, and beta-glucans studied for immune signalling. They're also one of the only plant foods that hands you vitamin D, provided they saw real daylight before they got to you. Use the dried mushrooms over fresh. The soaking liquid is the most concentrated flavour in the entire dish, and it goes straight into the braise, not down the drain. Five-spice brings star anise and cinnamon to the party, both loaded with polyphenols. Come day two, once the tofu has finished drinking in the sauce, the whole thing tastes deeper. Patience pays here.
Mushroom beta-glucans have real laboratory and early clinical work behind them for immune signalling. Soy foods carry trial support for LDL reduction and favourable cardiometabolic markers across cohorts.
Ingredients
- 450 g firm tofu, cut into thick slabs
- 40 g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 400 ml boiling water, for soaking
- 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, and spring onions to finish
Method
- Soak the shiitake in the boiling water for twenty minutes. Keep every drop of the soaking liquid; it is the backbone of the braise.
- Pat the tofu very dry and brown it in the oil on both sides, then set aside.
- Fry the ginger, garlic, and five-spice for thirty seconds until fragrant.
- Add the mushrooms, their strained soaking liquid, the soy, vinegar, and star anise. Return the tofu, and simmer gently uncovered for 25 minutes, turning the tofu once, until the sauce has reduced and darkened.
- Scatter with spring onion. Cool and store with all the sauce.
