Category: How to Cook With Furu

Bao & Dumplings / How to Cook With Chinese Spices / How to Cook With Furu / How to Cook With Sesame / How to Cook With Shaoxing Wine / How to Cook With Soy Sauce / Non-Spicy / Pork / Restaurant Classics / South (Guangdong)

Chasiubao (叉烧包) BBQ Pork Buns: From Scratch

Red Chasiu Without Red Yeast Rice Powder or Food Dye Guangdong’s famous 叉烧包 (chāshāobāo/caa¹siu¹baau¹), aka chasiubao or “char siu bao,” are a dimsum staple!  Soft, fluffy buns envelop the chasiu—barbecue/roast pork—in these steamed bao that ooze with juicy filling. Although I didn’t grow up in a family that made or ate chasiu, we always bought chasiubao from Chinese bakeries. (Especially the “pineapple” bun version that took me 25 years to figure out had no pineapple whatsoever.) At home, Ma’s humble 包子 (bāozi) enclosed minced cabbage/chive and pork, a typical filling,...

How to Cook With Furu / Non-Spicy / Noodles / Pork

Chinese Sausage and Fermented Tofu Carbonara

If Carbonara Were Chinese (and Dairy-Free) This Chinese sausage and fermented tofu carbonara comes together with as little effort as the Italian original. Creamy fermented tofu (腐乳, fǔrǔ)—also known as fermented/preserved beancurd and “vegan cheese”—takes the place of Pecorino Romano to make a surprising non-dairy substitute. Furu’s tang and funk might be misplaced in such a simple dish, but the sweet, savory Kam Yen Jan pork sausage makes it a striking duo. Aged Pecorino has its own sharpness and pungency, after all. The only deviation to the original script, possibly...

Yu choy with furu sauce

How to Cook With Furu / How to Cook With Shaoxing Wine / How to Cook With Soy Sauce / Plant / Vegetarian

Stir-Fried Yu Choy With Fermented Tofu (Furu Yu Choy)

The Versatility of Chinese Cheese Furu, or fermented tofu, is at first mysterious. Little cubes of noticeably fermented, yellowy beige or gray tofu come packed in shelf-stable jars with a flavorful brine. To the uninitiated, it can be scary. But those who have tried it know that furu is yet another in the vast Chinese cupboard of ultra-umami condiments. Furu is a product and flavor that Fongchong introduced me to not long after she became my daughter in 2011. In the first few months of her life in America communication...