Hello there!

Wowza — I’m thrilled that so many of you are interested in the July cooking class. I worried that it was summer and you’d not be available. But I was wrong!

Coincidentally, and I have been chatting about the challenges of making bánh xèo well. He has used my recipe in Vietnamese Food Any Day but hasn’t gotten satisfaction so he signed up for the class! Sometimes you need to watch someone to get all the moves and pointers so you can finesse your own cooking. Also, the VFAD recipe is good but the new one that I’ll be teaching is excellent.

That’s the beauty of taking a cooking class. I’ll be your banh xeo coach.

For details on the upcoming cooking class and promo codes, check this dispatch. (You can get the Early Bird deal till 6/30!)

Now for something spicy.

When I researched and developed the versatile only kung pao chicken you need, it dawned upon me that Sichuan cooking has a knack for using peanuts to yield heady dishes. Kung pao is one of them but there’s another popular dish called “second sister rabbit cubes” (èr jiě tù dīng 二姐兔丁 ) that includes peanuts, poached rabbit, fermented chile sauce, and green onions.

I make a vegan riff with tofu because it’s easier, healthy, and just as rich, spicy and umami laden. Also, the rabbit version is cool weather fare but the tofu version is lighter and great year round. Without a nickname, my take on the Sichuan favorite is simply called “spicy tofu and peanuts” (huā rén dòufu gān 花生豆腐干).

Like kung pao chicken and mapo tofu 🆓, dishes like this one are wickedly addictive. They possess a broad range of flavors — from rich and salty to spicy and pungent. The spectrum of textures span from soft to crunchy to chewy. Stand over the bowl, inhale the tofu’s aromas, and you’ll want to dive right in.

Your nose will tingle just a bit from the chile heat — which you can partly control with homemade chile oil. This condiment is a constant in my kitchen like it is in many Asian kitchens. It’s more useful than chili crisp because it plays with other flavors well without taking over.

Make the 2-ingredient recipe from my 🆓 free chile oil recipe at the website. Dial in the heat and play with the flavors! Aside from using chile oil here and in the Taiwan sesame cold noodles, you can drizzle it onto noodle soup, mix it into dipping sauces, and so much more.

Below you’ll find:

• Spicy Tofu and Peanuts recipe in text and as a downloadable PDF

• Pointers on sourcing and using two umami powerhouses — fermented chile bean sauce and fermented black beans

• Tips for how to choose the “right” tofu and prep it for big flavor

• Ingredient substitutions (because we all like them!)

• Serving suggestions so you can make the most of this recipe

And, this tofu dish happens to be vegan. I hope you befriend and make it often.

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