Stir-fried celery and spiced pressed tofu (芹菜炒香干) is a richly rewarding dish that can be customized in an infinite number of ways, and best of all, it is not that complicated to make! Chili peppers sourced from Sichuan Province add the perfect kick that will keep you coming back for more.
We have eaten numerous variations of stir-fried celery and spiced press tofu (Qíncài chǎo xiānggān or doufu gan) while traveling across China and eating in U.S. Chinatowns. We love them all, but I would say that the version we will show you here, along with a Sichuan version made with chili bean paste, are our favorites.
The first time I had this dish was in a small restaurant in Lanzhou, China (Jie’s hometown) and I was intrigued. Growing up in Alabama I had only eaten celery raw in salads or cooked down in soups or stews. Discovering that celery could be stir-fired like any other vegetable was eye opening (maybe there are others growing up in Alabama that would not be shocked - let me know in the comments if that is you). We hope that you will love this dish as much as us and at the end we will share some variations that you can use to make this dish your own.
Jump to:
What is pressed tofu?
Pressed tofu (doufu gan) is not the typical white block of tofu (although we aren’t hating on the white block of tofu) most people are used to seeing in their local supermarket. Unlike the variety that is common across the U.S., pressed tofu has less water content, so it has a greater bean-to-water ratio. “Dou” means bean and “gan” means dry. Also, pressed tofu usually comes already marinated in a variety of seasonings. One common flavor of pressed tofu is Chinese five-spice, which consists of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fennel seed, and Sichuan pepper (slight variations of these 5 spices are common). To take a deeper dive into this topic you can read our article about the different types of tofu.
Where to find it.
While you used to only be able to find pressed tofu in Asian grocery stores, it can now be found in some traditional western supermarkets (although it is still limited). Some Whole Foods stores carry a brand called Jenny’s Tofu which is made in Chicago, IL (one of our favorite places to visit). If you live close to an Asian grocery store, head to their refrigerator section and look for the vacuum sealed packages with caramel colored square tofu (see picture below). You can also show this picture to the supermarket staff and usually they will be more than happy to help you find it.
How to choose.
There are numerous flavors of pressed tofu at Chinese supermarkets – five spice, smoked, soy sauce, etc. In my experience you cannot go wrong with any of them. For the dish we are sharing with you here, any of the variations will pair well. You can even alternate flavors when you cook this dish a second time (we cook it often) so that you keep your palate intrigued.
Ingredients
- Pressed tofu (doufu gan)
- Cooking oil (rapeseed or olive oil)
- Whole dried Sichuan chili peppers
- Celery
- Red bell pepper (or use any pepper you have on hand)
- Spiced pressed tofu
- Soy sauce
- White pepper powder
- Salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Cut the spiced pressed tofu into thin ⅛-inch (6 millimeters) slices across the short side of the tofu block.
Use scissors to cut the whole Sichuan chili peppers into thirds. You can tear with your hands but be careful not to rub your eyes.
Julienne the bell pepper ¼ - ½ inch (6 -12 millimeters) slices.
Use a vegetable peeler to lightly peel off the outer celery strings. Next, cut the celery stalks in half long ways and then cut each stalk into approximately 1.5-inch pieces. (Tip: You can cut diagonally for better presentation).
Heat a wok to a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl the oil around the sides of the pan (be careful not to burn yourself). Note: heating the wok before adding the oil increases the stick resistant properties.
Add the cut dried Sichuan chili peppers to the wok and stir-fry around 30 seconds. You should start to smell the aroma of the chilis. Be careful not to burn the chilis(chilis burn easily in hot oil but you can add the vegetables quickly if you need to stop them from burning).
Add the celery and bell pepper to the wok and stir-fry about 5 minutes. Tip: if you like your fresh peppers crispy, wait about 2 minutes to add the peppers.
Add the pressed tofu and continuously stir-fry with your wok spatula to ensure the tofu does not stick (a little stickage is ok). Stir-fry approximately 2 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, white pepper powder, and salt and continue stir-frying about one minute. Taste to check if the dish needs more salt. Remember that soy-sauce has a significant amount of salt already so be sure not to add too much (My mom always told me you can add more, but you can’t take it away).
Once the celery is slightly tender (should still be crispy) you can remove from the wok and transfer to a serving plate. Now time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!
Hint: If the dried chilis are starting to burn when sautéing initially, go ahead and add the celery and bell pepper to the wok to cool it down.
Variation / Substitutions
- Fresh pepper variations - While this recipe uses red bell pepper, you can use almost any type of fresh pepper that you prefer, such as long hot peppers, Anaheim, or tiger-skin peppers. Although, the red bell pepper contrasts really well with the green celery and makes this dish really beautiful (will have your friends and family oohing and aahing).
- Numbing – Use Sichuan numbing peppercorns in this dish to add that perfect fragrant zing that we are addicted to.
- Sichuan version – If our other dinner dishes are not already spicy then we like to make a spicy Sichuan version of this dish using a three-year aged Sichuan chili bean paste that can be purchased from the Mala Market.
- Chili oil - Try topping this dish with a large dollop of our homemade Sichuan chili oil. Chili makes everything better!
Equipment
Ensure that you use a wok or a nice wide heavy frying pan to cook this dish. Like most of the stir-fry dishes that we make, having room to move the ingredients around the hot wok is important and will make your life easier. If you use a small pan the ingredients will not have enough contact with the hot pan and will steam more than stir-fry. Also, a wok spatula has the perfect curvature to facilitate moving food around the rounded wok pan.
Storage
You can store your leftovers (we almost never have leftovers though) in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Top tip
If you are not used to eating celery as a hot main dish (like Mark prior to marrying Jie), you may be tempted to overcook it until it is very tender. Cook the celery until it is just starting to become slightly tender, but there should still be a nice crunch to it. Experiment and find your personal preference. As we always say, make this dish your own :)!
📖 Recipe
Stir-fried Celery and Spiced Pressed Tofu
Equipment
- Wok
- Wok spatula
- Knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Spiced Pressed tofu (doufu gan)
- 1.5 tablespoons Cooking oil (rapeseed or olive)
- .10 ounces Whole dried Sichuan chili peppers (approx. 1 large or 2-3 small)
- 9 stalks Celery approximate
- 2.6 ounces Red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon White pepper powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Cut the spiced pressed tofu into thin ⅛-inch (6 millimeters) slices across the short side of the tofu block.8 ounces Spiced Pressed tofu (doufu gan)
- Use scissors to cut the whole Sichuan chili peppers into thirds. You can tear with your hands but be careful not to rub your eyes..10 ounces Whole dried Sichuan chili peppers
- Julienne the bell pepper ¼ - ½ inch (6 -12 millimeters) slices.2.6 ounces Red bell pepper
- Use a vegetable peeler to lightly peel off the outer celery strings. Next, cut the celery stalks in half long ways and then cut each stalk into approximately 1.5-inch pieces.(Tip: You can cut diagonally for better presentation).9 stalks Celery
- Heat a wok to a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl the oil around the sides of the pan (be careful not to burn yourself). Note: heating the wok before adding the oil increases the stick resistant properties.1.5 tablespoons Cooking oil (rapeseed or olive)
- Add the cut dried Sichuan chili peppers to the wok and stir-fry around 30 seconds. You should start to smell the aroma of the chilis. Be careful not to burn the chilis (chilis burn easily in hot oil but you can add the vegetables quickly if you need to stop them from burning)..10 ounces Whole dried Sichuan chili peppers
- Add the celery and bell pepper to the wok and stir-fry about 5 minutes. Tip: if you like your fresh peppers crispy, wait about 2 minutes to add the pepper.2.6 ounces Red bell pepper, 9 stalks Celery
- Add the pressed tofu and continuously stir-fry with your wok spatula to ensure the tofu does not stick (a little stickage is ok). Stir-fry approximately 2minutes.8 ounces Spiced Pressed tofu (doufu gan)
- Add the soy sauce, white pepper powder, and salt and continue stir-frying about one minute. Taste to check if the dish needs more salt. Remember that soy-sauce has a significant amount of salt already so be sure not to add too much (My mom always told me you can add more, but you can’t take it away).1 tablespoon Soy sauce, ⅛ teaspoon Salt, ⅛ teaspoon White pepper powder
- Once the celery is slightly tender (should still be crispy) you can remove from the wok and transfer to a serving plate. Now time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!
Nutrition
Nutrition disclaimer
malaeats.com is created for informational purposes only. Although we do our best to provide nutritional information to our readers as a general guideline, we are not certified nutritionists and the nutritional values provided should be considered estimates. Numerous factors such as variations in fresh ingredients, brands purchased, etc. will alter the nutritional values in any recipe. Different online calculators also provide different results depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, please use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities you used.
Food safety
We sometimes take for a granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Leave a Reply