A crowd-pleasing little appetizer: chewy, flavor-potent cubes of pressed tofu (dougan) brined with Chinese herbs, spices, and oolong tea leaves. Makes a great holiday gift.
I love making a batch of this tea-brined tofu and keeping it in the fridge. It lasts for up to two weeks, and the longer you let the tofu sit, the more flavorful it gets. You can dish it out to serve to guests as an appetizer to nibble on before a meal.
What’s in the brine?
If you’ve been cooking Chinese food for a while, you might be familiar with some of these spices. Part medicinal and part culinary, a few of them share uses in the West, like bay leaf and cloves, but others are less common, although readily available in any Chinese supermarket.
- Bay leaf (xiangye): provides an herbal, slightly floral note that’s more on the savory side
- Cloves (dingxiang) are rich, pungent and warming
- Fennel seeds (xiao huixiang) provide a sweet, licorice-like flavor
- Black cardamom (caoguo) is resinous with notes of citrus and eucalyptus
- Cassia bark (guipi) is basically cinnamon (it’s called Chinese cinnamon), although more assertive
- Star anise (bajiao) also has a strong black licorice flavor, although it isn’t related to either anise or fennel
- For the tea, you can use black tea (hongcha) or oolong tea (wulongcha). Black is stronger in color and flavor. (I only had oolong on hand, and I love the more delicate, subtle aroma!)
The rest of the brine is very simple, just soy sauce or tamari and rock sugar. Also salt.
What kind of tofu should I use?
I use dougan, which is a kind of pressed tofu that’s extra-firm, sold in the Asian supermarket. It’s chewy to the point of rubbery, and the resultant brined tofu reminds me of jerky. If you want a softer bite, use medium or firm tofu. I’ve also used store-bought fried tofu puffs, which absorb the brine like sponges.
Do I need to fry the tofu first?
Frying tofu is an efficient way to prepare the tofu for brining. It makes the surface sturdier and adds richness, and pulls out some of the water. The bubbly golden crust that develops also transforms the tofu’s surface, resulting in pleasantly chewy edges.
You can always skip the frying, but I recommend it for the best flavor and texture.
Storing and serving
The tofu can be stored up to two weeks in a container in the fridge. The longer you let it sit in the brine, the more flavor it takes on. Sweet-salty and heady with spices, stained dark with the color of the tea leaves, it’s a sophisticated yet simple little appetizer. I’m always fishing out a piece or two with my chopsticks to snack on, it’s hard to resist.
Here I serve the brined tofu chilled, with soft five-spice boiled peanuts. It’s a play on “Q” textures: tender and chewy.
📖 Recipe
Tea-Brined Pressed Tofu 茶香干
A crowd-pleasing little appetizer: chewy, flavor-potent cubes of pressed tofu (dougan) brined with Chinese herbs, spices, and oolong tea leaves.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 1 day
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 14–16 ounces (450 grams, 1 pound) medium tofu, firm tofu, or plain white pressed tofu (dougan 豆干)*, or 8 ounces (120 grams) fried tofu puffs
- 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
For the tea brine:
- ½ cup (120 grams) rock sugar, crushed into small pieces, or regular granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) tamari or soy sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 star anise
- 2 teaspoon fennel seeds (xiaohuixiang)
- 1 black cardamom pod (caoguo)
- 1 tsp whole cloves (dingxiang)
- 3–4 heaping tablespoons loose-leaf oolong or black tea
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
Instructions
- Fry the tofu. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes. In a deep saucepan or wok, heat the oil until it reaches 350°F/177°C. Add about a third of the tofu to the oil and fry for 5 to 6 minutes until the edges take on a golden color. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and transfer to paper towels to drain. Wait for the oil to return to the frying temperature, then repeat for the remaining tofu.
- Prepare the brine. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over low heat, heat the rock sugar, stirring occasionally, until it starts to change color. Add 3 cups (720mL) water, the tamari or soy sauce, bay leaf, star anise, fennel seeds and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and add the tea leaves. Steep for about 5 minutes, then add the salt. Taste and adjust as needed— the brine should be very flavorful, and slightly saltier than how you would season a soup.
- Add the fried tofu. Fold the tofu into the liquid (spices and tea still in the pot) and continue to cook at a gentle simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is visibly darkened in color. Try a cube— you should be able to taste the flavor of the brine, although it will continue to absorb over time.
- Transfer to a container. Remove the pot from heat. Cool to room temperature, then spoon the tofu into a lidded container. Pour in enough of the brine to cover. Chill in the fridge overnight.
- Serve. Using clean chopsticks, transfer the amount of tofu you wish to serve to a small dish. You can enjoy the tofu whole or cut each cube into slices to showcase the cross section.
Notes
- *The texture of the tofu will depend entirely on what type of tofu you use. I used pressed tofu, which is extra firm tofu that’s chewy and quite sturdy, like jerky. For a more tender bite, fry medium tofu or firm tofu, which is more porous, or use pre-fried tofu puffs.
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