Red-braised beef with tofu 'bamboo' (Fu zhu shao niu rou) from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking (page 108) by Fuchsia Dunlop

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    Can substitute dried tofu knots for tofu 'bamboo' sticks.

  • ShayLRoss on April 12, 2026

    Made this to have with the buckwheat noodle dish. I did not have any tofu bamboo on hand, that will be a next time effort.

  • metacritic on January 08, 2024

    An excellent and quite easy braise. I gladly will make it again. Dried tofu is always a delight and it gives lovely body and texture to this particular dish. I didn't have broth but had used short ribs, taking the meat off the bone. I threw in the bone so that as this cooked, it added depth to the dish that otherwise might be supplied by chicken broth/beef broth.

  • kitchen_chick on June 11, 2017

    One of my favorites dishes. I like using the tofu knots, and I always make extra so there's leftovers to use with a noodle soup.

  • rionafaith on November 11, 2016

    p. 108 -- Pretty good... I LOVE the tofu bamboo and will have to find more ways to use it. This was a bit salty for my taste, and that's hard to control as I didn't add any salt and it was all in the fermented products. (For the record, I used Greenfood Pixian Broad Bean Paste in a red foil packet for the Sichuan chilli bean paste and Union Foods Brand Sweet Flour Sauce, which the internet has led me to believe is the same thing as sweet fermented sauce though I'm not 100% sure.) I would make sure and use low sodium chicken stock if I make it again; that could have contributed to the problem. Other than that, it had great flavor and the spice level was perfect -- a nice burn but not totally fiery.

  • westminstr on April 01, 2013

    Not my absolute favorite but I made a lot of changes to the recipe, so perhaps not fair to judge. On Monday night after work, I braised the beef. I subbed 1 tsp fermented black beans for the 11/2 tsp sweet fermented sauce and did not add sugar. I also didn't pre-boil the beef. I reduced the chilli bean sauce to 2 Tbsp and I thought the braising liquid was still quite spicy. After an hour of braising I added a huge carrot cut into beef-sized chunks. The next night, I got out the pot of braised beef and carrots heated it up and added tofu knots. I wasn't sure whether to skim the fat or not but in the end I decided to skim, which made the stew considerably less spicy.

  • Breadcrumbs on March 25, 2013

    p. 108 - It was the photo in the book that drew me to this dish. I just loved the look of the tofu bamboo tucked inside the pot of beef. I couldn’t wait to try it. I should say that once I read through the recipe, I had my doubts. I have absolutely never prepared meat in this manner. I didn’t have high hopes for this dish. Admittedly, is smelled heavenly but I simply couldn’t imagine the beef surviving its initial plunge into boiling water. Well, I was wrong! This was sensational. The meat was super-tender yet miraculously it held together. The tofu bamboo was wonderful. Somewhat similar in texture to mushrooms. This is the very first time mr bc actually enjoyed tofu!! He loved this dish. The meat was ridiculously flavourful. I could have poured that sauce into a glass and drank every last drop. Thankfully I didn’t because we’re having the leftovers tomorrow atop rice. I’d highly recommend this one. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/892279#7945960

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this recipe

This recipe does not currently have any reviews.

You are reporting a broken online recipe link to EYB. Please confirm that you want the report submitted. Please also suggest the correct URL for this online recipe to the below textbox.