Red-Cooked Tofu

Red-cooking is a traditional Chinese braising technique that uses soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine to flavor the food and give it a dark red color. If you're not a big tofu fan, this easy, aromatic stew might change your mind.

• 4 medium scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
• 2 medium carrots, cut into small dice
• 1 cup lower-salt chicken broth or (preferably homemade) vegetable broth
• 6 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce; more as needed
• 1/4 cup Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine) or dry sherry
• 1-1/2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 14-oz. packages firm tofu, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 Tbs. seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. arrowroot or cornstarch

In a large saucepan, combine the scallion whites, carrots, broth, soy sauce, Shaoxing, ginger, sugar, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the tofu, cover, and continue to simmer gently until the tofu is heated through and has absorbed some of the other flavors, 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar and arrowroot until smooth and then stir the mixture into the stew, taking care not to break up the tofu. Stir gently until thickened, about 1 minute. Add more soy sauce to taste, sprinkle with the scallion greens, and serve.