Cold-Dressed Dried Tofu (Liang Ban Fu Zhu)

凉拌腐竹

Cold-Dressed Dried Tofu (Liang Ban Fu Zhu) — a Chinese recipe made with dried tofu skin, ready in about 30 minutes. Step-by-step instructions with photos.

Ingredients

• dried tofu skin (fu zhu)
• scallion
• light soy sauce
• sesame oil
• Chinese black vinegar

Instructions

1. Rinse dried tofu skin under cool water, then soak in warm (40°C / 104°F) water for 20 minutes until plump and flexible but still resilient — do not over-soak.
2. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add soaked fu zhu, and blanch for exactly 90 seconds — then drain and rinse immediately under cold running water.
3. Squeeze gently to remove excess water, then cut into 4-cm batons.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine light soy sauce, sesame oil, and Chinese black vinegar. Whisk until emulsified. (Dressing looks uniformly shiny, no oil separation.)
5. Add fu zhu and scallions to the dressing. Toss gently with chopsticks for 1 minute until evenly coated and fragrant.