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–+ servings
Dried tofu and celery stir fry is a satisfying and healthy main dish that you can put together in no time. The crunchy celery and chewy smoked tofu are cooked with a small amount of ground pork to enhance their flavor, along with ginger, garlic and soy sauce. It’s super easy to make and tastes very satisfying! {Gluten-Free Adaptable, Vegetarian Adaptable}

Dried Tofu and Celery Stir Fry (西芹炒香干)

By Maggie Zhu
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 to 4 servings
Dried tofu and celery stir fry is a satisfying and healthy main dish that you can put together in no time. The crunchy celery and chewy smoked tofu are cooked with a small amount of ground pork to enhance their flavor, along with ginger, garlic and soy sauce. It’s super easy to make and tastes very satisfying! {Gluten-Free Adaptable, Vegetarian Adaptable}
To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use tamari instead of light soy sauce.
To make this dish vegetarian, skip the pork and use water or vegetable broth to replace chicken broth. I highly recommend adding 1 teaspoon vegetarian oyster sauce to the sauce to make the vegetarian dish more flavorful.

Ingredients

Marinating (optional but highly recommended)

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons chicken broth (or water)
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir fry

  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1/2 thumb ginger , julienned
  • 2 cloves garlic , sliced
  • 3 stalks celery , sliced to 1/3” (6 cm) thick 2” (10 cm) long strips (you can serve the celery leaves as well)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 cup dried tofu , sliced (or tofu cutlet, sliced into 1/3” (6 cm) thick 2” (10 cm) long strips) (*Footnote)

Instructions

  • Add the pork and the rest of the marinating ingredients into a small bowl. Mix very well with your hands until evenly coated.
  • Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok until hot. Add the ground pork and spread it out with a spatula. Let cook for 1 minute without moving, or until the bottom is lightly charred. Flip to cook the other side and chop the pork into smaller pieces, until the pork is just cooked through.
  • Your pan should still have quite some oil in it. If not, add 1 tablespoon of oil, plus the ginger and garlic. Stir a few times to release fragrance.
  • Add the celery. Stir and cook until it just starts to get tender, 2 to 3 minutes or so.
  • Add the smoked tofu and sprinkle with the salt. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the celery has turned tender.
  • If you reserved the celery leaves, add them to the pan (Optional).
  • Pour in the sauce and stir to mix everything together, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn to low heat and carefully try out the tofu and celery. Adjust seasoning by sprinkling a bit more salt, if needed. Transfer everything to a big plate. Serve as a side or main.

Notes

  1. If you cannot find smoked tofu, you can also use baked tofu or tofu cutlet. These days you can find them in many grocery stores and health food stores. Similar to the packaged smoked tofu, baked tofu is very firm and holds up well in a stir fry. If using regular tofu, you will need to cut it into thicker pieces and brown it first, so it will hold up a bit better in the stir fry.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 142kcal, Carbohydrates: 9.7g, Protein: 13.3g, Fat: 5.8g, Saturated Fat: 1.3g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 325mg, Potassium: 299mg, Fiber: 0.7g, Sugar: 7.1g, Calcium: 58mg, Iron: 1mg