fermented... wet... delicious

This stuff is weird city, but I've pretty much fallen in love with "wet bean curd" now. I thought it was going to be spicy tofu in a jar, and for $1 I had to give it a try, but I got it home and it's not tofu... exactly. It smells like briney blue cheese and the cubes inside are almost like... melted brie in consistency. So it's kind of like cheese, but also a heck of a lot saltier and pungent-ier and I had absolutely no idea what to do with it (besides get kinda hooked on eating small bits of it with a spoon).

See? Weird! Yet compelling. There's mysterious stuff floating in that brine, too, I'm convinced it's either chiles or globules of pure yumminess, from the magical yumminess forest.

Luckily I did manage to find something real to make with it - fu yu ong choy! (aka: ridiculously more-ish stir-fried water spinach). Here's what I did, if I remember correctly...

oil for frying
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bunch of ong choy/chinese water spinach, rinsed and cut into long sticks (separate the leaves and stems)
2-3 cubes fermented tofu

* Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or a wok on high heat. Add the ginger/garlic and cook for about a minute.
* Add the spinach stems and cook for maybe 2-3 minutes, then add the leaves, and cook until they're just barely wilted.
* Make a bare spot in the middle of the pan and mash in the bean cubes, then toss to coat everything. Serve whilst hot and juicy!

And if it's just you... well then eat the whole pan with chopsticks and a big grin, and then have peanut-brittly-rice-caked-bottom-y candy things for dessert and revel in the not having to impress dinner guests and/or represent all major food groups in one sitting. woo!