This Hunan-style tofu in hot sauce is a vegan version of my family’s go-to order at a local restaurant serving Hunan cuisine: fish fillet in hot sauce. It features pan-fried tofu, bok choy, leeks, and enoki mushrooms in a warm broth with plenty of spice.
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No matter how many restaurants in big cities with thousands of Yelp reviews I try, none of them has ever come close this Chinese restaurant in my hometown that closed down 10 years ago. Exploring food is great but eating the same thing from the same place like 30 times? There is a lot of comfort in that.
At Hunan Chili, my family always ordered fish fillet in hot sauce. Hunan is a province in China with a cuisine known for being spicy, so naturally, my spice-loving Indian parents and I looooved panting over spicy steaming bowls. This is a veganized version of our favorite dish, with tofu instead of fish, along with bok choy, leeks, and enoki mushrooms. The original dish isn’t vegan, but honestly my family’s favorite parts were the spice and the vegetables like bok choy and leeks, which were always a treat because we typically didn’t eat these vegetables in our food.
For about three years of my childhood, I’m pretty sure we had it at least every month. Ever since the restaurant closed down years ago, we haven’t found anything quite like it. After a few rounds of trial and error, this is the happy spot I landed at. It’s not the same as Hunan Chili’s version, but it reminds us of it and that’s what matters.
How to Make Hunan-Style Tofu in Hot Sauce
Toast the chilis and chop them. Reserve for the end!
Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes and pan fry.
Make a paste with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), black bean sauce, and vegan oyster sauce.
For the aromatics, I used leek whites (scallion whites work too), ginger, and garlic. Some white pepper, red chili powder, shaoxing rice wine, and simmer with veggies like bok choy, leeks, and enoki mushrooms.
Hunan-Style Tofu in Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 dry red chilis
- 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 4 tbsp neutral oil, divided
- 14 oz. firm tofu, pressed for at least 15 minutes
- 1 tbsp doenjang (fermented soybean paste), sub doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste)
- 1.5 tbsp black bean garlic sauce
- 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
- 1 bunch leeks, ~ ½ cup greens and ¼ cup whites *sub white part of green onion for leek whites
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp white pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
- 2.5 cups water
- 4 bunches of bok choy, quartered
- 6 oz. enoki mushrooms (optional)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat a tsp of oil in a wok over medium-low heat. Toast dry red chilis and sichuan peppercorns. Stir occasionally, being careful not to burn the chilis. Let the chilis cool on a plate. When cooled, chop them up finely.
- Make the chili paste: doenjang, black bean garlic sauce, vegan oyster sauce. Whisk this together.
- In the same wok or pan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Cut the pressed tofu into rectangles and pan fry until golden-brown and crisp on all sides. It should take about 10 minutes total. Set the tofu aside on a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Reserve the oil used to pan fry the tofu and add a little more if necessary. Add ginger, garlic, and leek whites. After a few minutes, add white pepper, red chili powder, and rice wine to deglaze the wok. Add the paste and gently stir. Add 2.5 cups water and bring it to a simmer.
- Add bok choy and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add leeks and simmer with 1-2 minutes. Add enoki mushrooms and turn off the heat. Enoki mushrooms will cook almost immediately. Toss in the pan fried tofu.
- Taste and add 1 tbsp soy sauce if needed. Additional white pepper while serving with short-grain rice or jasmine rice is also great.
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