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Tofu Stir-Fry with Black Bean Sauce

Also called bean curd, tofu is sold in blocks with textures ranging from silken to extra-firm. Firm tofu holds its shape when stir-fried, as in this recipe. Soft, silken tofu is best gently cooked in recipes such as soups. Before using tofu, drain it, rinse briefly and drain again.

By williamssonoma · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Tofu Stir-Fry with Black Bean Sauce

Why it works: Sauce and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,147 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Tofu Stir-Fry with Black Bean Sauce

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

926Calories
34 gProtein
21 gFat
152 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Peanut Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Tofu100g firm76
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Yellow Zucchini1 medium (113g)21
Bok Choy1 cup (70g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,147 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Pepper + peastop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Tofu + peastop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  4. Tofu + saucetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together262 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Pepper + yellow zucchinitop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the yellow zucchini

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, sauce, sugar, peanut oil, pepper, peas):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Welsh onionfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Yellow zucchinithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, sauce, sugar, peanut oil, pepper, peas. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.