Shredded Tofu and Shiitake Stir-Fry

Freeze your packaged block of tofu overnight Return it to the fridge the next day for a slow thaw until needed. The freezing opens the tofu's texture to a porous sponge. You can now easily squeeze out most all of the water between cutting boards. Cut into strips, slabs, small blocks or shredded, it'll now saturate your marinate.

I loved the shredded tofu - I had never thought of that, and it was a nice change from my usual stir-fries. My substitution: I always use the stir-fry sauce on page 58 of America's Test Kitchen "The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook"(which I have found to be superior to all other stif-fry sauces). 1/4 cup vegetable broth, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 tsp sesame oil - shake and pour on with desired spices near the end of cooking.

I had a half of a head of napa cabbage in the fridge, so I chopped that and stir fried it, then served the tofu and shiitakis over the cabbage.

It was delicious! My husband said he would be happy if I made this once a week!

I'd suggest draining the water from the tofu by putting it under 3-4 heavy dinner plates, which will get a great deal of water out in 15 minutes or so, and then shredding it

Quick note about "Shaoxing" - this is the city in China which makes a certain style of cooking wine. If you're looking for this stuff in a grocery store, it would be more accurately labeled Shao Xing Cooking Wine or just Cooking Wine. Regardless, you want to buy the amber coloured stuff. Delicious!

I made this last night for dinner with one modification. I shredded the tofu, but tossed with a scant amount of canola oil and roasted for approximately 15 minutes for added crunch. It was delicious, and will be a regular in my repertoire. My six year old daughter also devoured it.

I made this tonight and it was delicious. I made a couple of variations: used vermouth in place of the wine/sherry and a tsp of garlic chili paste in place of the pepper. I also doubled the sauce. I served it over stir fried napa cabbage, as recommended by another commenter, and that added a nice fresh crunch.

I disagree--it all depends on how you cook it. If you're patient and let it sear in a hot pan without constantly stirring it, it caramelizes and acquires some flavor. What you flavor it with, of course, also makes a difference. I find a denser tofu more flavorful--I have grown to prefer sprouted tofu over the blah Nasoya stuff.

Had some trepidation about trying this, but, boy, was I glad I did. I made it because my husband likes tofu and I don't, and I loved this, so win-win. We didn't have edamame, so I used green peas, which I think improved it a bit, being sweeter and less meaty. I also used baby bellas instead of shiitake mushrooms, which I thought was an improvement as well. Thank you, Melissa!

This was absolutely wonderful! The only substitution made was I used Oyster Mushrooms instead of Shiitake which the store didn't have. My Husband and I have been vegetarians for about 30 years and this was one of our all time favorites! Thank you Ms. Clark you are the best!

Absolutely delicious; couldn't get enough of it! Not filling enough as a one-dish meal for my husband and teenage boys, but great for me. I will double it next time. Used a pinch of dried lemongrass instead of fresh; used about 2 teaspoons of Sambal Oleck instead of chopped red chile; used Mirin instead of Chinese sherry, since that's what I had; doubled the edamame (can never have too much!). Skipped the herbs at end but lime juice was nice. Served over rice. This one goes on my favorites list!

Loved the grated tofu! I doubled the amount of sauce and also added grated carrots in at the end with the herbs. Included mirin and rice vinegar in the sauce, and offered chili garlic sauce and soy as condiments. Would double the mushrooms next time, and add something crunchy - water chestnuts as someone mentions below, would be a terrific addition.

Gave tofu one more try before I quit...

Pluses:
-It's pretty easy to make.
-Edamame gives this dish texture, which it wouldn't have otherwise.
-Shitake mushrooms give it flavor.
-Great idea to shred the tofu: helps it dry faster and distributes it better throughout the dish.

Minuses:
-Bland, bland, bland...
-$16+ worth of additional ingredients (not counting the sherry; I already had edamame, soy, garlic, ginger and oil) for 3-4 servings...hardly enough taste for the investment.

Loved this! I added more edamame because I love edamame -- I didn't defrost them, just threw them into the wok and they were perfect. Next time I will also add some other varieties of mushrooms. Also followed other cooks' advice and doubled the sauce. I used cilantro, which was lovely. I will use cilantro again, but I will add some chopped peanuts, which I think will go perfectly with all the other flavors.

Really liked this. Read the other comments and realized I needed to get moisture out of the tofu first. So I used my usual method: wrapped the block in a clean dish towel, put a plate on top, and weighted it down for 30 minutes. Shredded perfectly. Used dry sherry, got lemongrass at the Asian market (5 stalks for $1). Will definitely make again.