Last Updated on April 5, 2021 by Simon Fan
The coastal city of Tianjin, to the southeast of Beijing, is one of the largest metropolises in China. Despite its size, however, the city is surprisingly low key and laid back. Tianjin locals prefer to enjoy life at a more leisurely pace amid urban hustle and bustle. A favorite pastime for many is eating the fantastic food the city is famous for.
Start with breakfast and snacks. In Tianjin, you can arguably get the best savory pancakes in the country. Called jian bing guo zi (煎饼果子) in Mandarin, the thin pancake is made on a hot griddle, spread with eggs and fragrant sauces, sprinkled with scallions, filled with fried dough stick or crispy cracker, and then folded like a little soft quilt, right in front of your eager eyes.
Another local delicacy is the steamed pork bun with an intriguing name: dog won’t care (狗不理). No visitor to the city would leave without devouring those juicy treats. Curious about the origin of the name? Check out my post here.
Also on everyone’s must-have list in Tianjin is eight-treasure tofu (八珍豆腐), a dish in which tofu is flavored by eight delicious ingredients. There is no set rule about which “eight treasures” you should use for the dish, and every Tianjin local has his or her own ideal combination. I’ve seen recipes using fancy seafood such as abalone and sea cucumber, as well as all-vegetarian ensembles. Most recipes, though, fall somewhere in between and typically include common seafood such as shrimp and squid, some meat (pork or chicken), mushrooms, and vegetables. The most interesting recipe I’ve seen includes Spam, which sounds a great idea to try!
The real star of the dish, without doubt, is tofu. Enriched by the eight treasures, it tastes intensely flavorful and comforting. Restaurant versions of this dish often call for soft tofu, which is cut into small cubes and deep-fried, before being cooked with other ingredients. To make the dish at home, I find that using firm tofu and pan-frying method would make cooking easier with equally good results.
My list of eight treasures includes shrimp, several types of mushrooms, green peas, snow peas, as well as roasted peanuts to add some crunch. Other vegetables, such as asparagus, okra, bok choy, cabbage, and Chinese broccoli, are good options too.
Feel free to create your set of treasures when you try this dish. The key is to choose ingredients that add variety to the dish in terms of texture, color, and flavor.
Eight-treasure tofu, Tianjin style (天津八珍豆腐)
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 oz (110 g) shelled raw shrimp, fresh or thawed frozen
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
8 oz (230 g) firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into pieces about 2 x 1½ x ½ inches (5 x 3.8 x 1.3 cm)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 scallion, white part cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces and green part thinly sliced
1 oz (30 g) green peas
1 oz (30 g) snow peas, cut diagonally into ½-inch (1.3 cm) pieces
2 oz (60 g) carrots, thinly sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 oz (60 g) button mushrooms, cut into ½-inch (1.3 cm) pieces
1 oz (30 g) enoki mushrooms
½ cup water
½ teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch, mixed with 1½ teaspoons water
½ oz (15 g) roasted peanuts
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Directions
- In a bowl, mix the shrimp with the salt and wine. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
- Remove any hard or knobby bits from the soaked wood ear mushrooms, and tear large ones into small pieces.
- Pat the tofu very dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a nonstick pan until shimmering. Add the tofu in one layer, and sear over medium heat until lightly golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the tofu to a plate. Add the remaining teaspoon oil to the pan. Add the garlic and scallion white, and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 15 seconds. Add the green peas, snow peas, and carrots and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the oyster sauce, all the mushrooms, and the water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pan, and cook until just cooked through, about 1 minute. Pour in the well-stirred starch slurry, and stir and mix until the sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Mix in the peanuts, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with scallion green and serve.
