Mutton and Beancurd Sticks

Name: Mutton and Beancurd Sticks
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground black pepper; 100 g/3¼ oz beancurd sticks, soaked in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes, until soft; 5 ml/1 tsp sugar; 45 ml/3 tbsp dark soy sauce; pinch of five-spice powder; 600 ml/1 pint/2½ cups water; 350 g/12 oz lean mutton or lamb, cut into bitesize chunks; 350 g/12 oz lean mutton or lamb, cut into bitesize chunks; 15 ml/1 tbsp oil; 3 garlic cloves, sliced; 350 g/12 oz lean mutton or lamb, cut into bitesize chunks

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

China

By Terry Tan

Published 2020

About

This slow-cooked mutton dish is typical of Hainan cooking. Dry beancurd sticks, called fu choke in Cantonese, are pale yellow in colour. They have a bland taste, but are rich in protein and are believed to be cooling; notwithstanding, this is ideal for keeping out the cold in the winter.

Ingredients

350 g/12 oz lean mutton or lamb, cut into bitesize chunks
15 ml

Asia
China
Hainan
Main course
Stew
Winter

Method

Place the mutton or lamb on a board and tenderize slightly, using a meat mallet or the blunt edge of a cleaver.
Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until golden brown. Add the meat and fry for 2 minutes to seal in the flavour.
Sprinkle the sugar over the meat, then stir in the soy sauce, five-spice powder, water and pepper. Transfer to a pan, cov