Tofu with Spicy Minced Pork and Mushrooms

Are you familiar with the spicy canned minced pork with mushroom? In Hokkien (Fujian Chinese dialect), we call it "Ba Chiu." This canned product is very versatile. Though, I would usually stir fry the spicy pork in a little garlic and then top it on tofu for a quick deliciously spicy dinner.

One day, I had this one good block of tofu and I wanted to make this "Ba Chiu." However, my pantry ran out of this canned pork! What to do? I made my own home made version of Spicy Minced Pork - "Ba Chiu."


300 gms lean ground pork, marinate in
2 T soy sauce
dashes of ground pepper (as much as you like)
a few drops of sesame oil
1 T cornstarch

5 T canola oil
5 pcs dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, drained, sliced
5 T minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 pcs green long peppers (siling haba) or finger chillies or bird's eye chillies, chopped
1 T soy sauce
1 T oyster sauce
dash of sesame oil, optional
salt and pepper to taste
green onions, chopped

1 block tofu


1. Heat up the oil in a wok or a cooking pan. Saute the onions until caramelized and soft. Saute the garlic until fragrant.

2. Add the marinated ground pork. Cook for a while until meat changes color. Add in the mushrooms. Stir for a while and add in the chillies (more or less, depending on your preference). Add in the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Sitr for a while. Cover and simmer until meat is cooked through.

3. Add in the chopped green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with sesame oil.

4. In a microwavable serving dish, heat up the tofu for 30 seconds; until just warm. Top with the cooked ground pork mixture. Serve hot with jasmine rice.





No more canned spicy pork for me. This is a very healthy and delicious dish, made with all natural ingredients. The kids love this dish. It is flavorful and fragrant. Soft and easy to chew (yes, my kids are lazy;)

This is also an easy to prepare dish, made with ingredients readily available in our pantry. Well, probably except for the dried mushrooms. You can omit the dried mushrooms or substitute fresh mushrooms. The dish will still be delicious! Dried mushrooms are easily available in Asian groceries.

Sharing this healthy tofu dish with the Monthly Mingle community, a foodie event by What's Cooking and What's For Lunch Honey. This month features healthy family dinners. Please check out the What's Cooking blog for the round-up after February 9.