The vegan plate I make for a table that does not believe in vegetarian is this one – vegan yuba braise, and this home cook’s version calls its sauce the soul: wine, soy, mushroom oyster, a spoon of ketchup, sugar, pepper, and ten spoons of water. A home cook wrote it in ten steps and closed with the confession in the title: another bowl of rice, again. I made it as written, and it is the tender, glossy plate that proves no meat is needed.

Su shao fu zhu (素烧腐竹) is vegan yuba braise – warm-soaked yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear simmered 5-7 minutes in a ketchup-touched soul sauce, then glazed with starch and finished with snow peas kept crisp.

What Is Vegan Yuba Braise with Snow Peas?

This is the vegetarian pot built on a sauce: yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear soak in warm water two hours or more ahead. The soul sauce mixes in a bowl – three spoons of cooking wine, two of light soy, one of mushroom oyster sauce, a spoon of ketchup, a teaspoon of sugar, half a spoon of salt, white pepper, and ten spoons of water. The soaked yuba and wood-ear blanch a minute; snow peas blanch only until they color – never to the boil, or they will not stay crisp in the pan. Garlic blooms, carrot, onion, and shiitake fry fragrant, the yuba joins for two or three minutes, the soul sauce covers it under a lid for five to seven, the starch glosses it, and the snow peas fold in for the final three.

For the oyster-sauce yuba braise of the same stick, my yuba and shiitake braise is the simpler, quicker pot.

Why This Recipe Works

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• The soul sauce. Wine, soy, mushroom oyster, ketchup, sugar, pepper – ten spoons of water.

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• Two hours in warm water. The soak that makes the yuba.

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• Snow peas to color only. Never the boil – or they lose the crisp, the recipe warns.

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• Five to seven minutes under the lid. The ingredients take the sauce.

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• The starch, then the peas. Gloss first, crunch last.

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Equipment Needed

• A soaking bowl
• A pot for the blanch
• A pan with a lid
• A bowl for the sauce

Ingredients

• Dried yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear
• A handful of snow peas
• 1/2 carrot, 1/4 onion, and a few cloves of garlic
• For the soul sauce: 3 tbsp cooking wine, 2 tbsp light soy, 1 tbsp mushroom oyster sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, white pepper, and 10 tbsp water
• A little cornstarch

Ingredient Notes

The dried goods: Soaked two hours in warm water. The soul sauce: Measured in one bowl – the plate’s whole flavor. Snow peas: Blanched to color only, folded in last.

Prep & Mise en Place

Soak the yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear; mix the soul sauce; blanch the snow peas.

Cooking Process

Step 1 – Soak the yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear in warm water 2+

Soak the yuba, shiitake, and wood-ear in warm water 2+ hours ahead.

Step 2 – Mix the soul sauce: 3 spoons of cooking wine, 2 of ligh

Mix the soul sauce: 3 spoons of cooking wine, 2 of light soy, 1 of mushroom oyster sauce, 1 of ketchup, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 spoon of salt, white pepper, and 10 spoons of water; stir.

Step 3 – Blanch the soaked yuba and wood-ear in boiling water ab

Blanch the soaked yuba and wood-ear in boiling water about a minute, then lift out.

Step 4 – Blanch the snow peas and lift them out at once – do not

Blanch the snow peas and lift them out at once – do not wait for the boil, or they will not stay crisp in the stir.

Step 5 – Heat a little oil, bloom the garlic, then add the carro

Heat a little oil, bloom the garlic, then add the carrot, onion, and shiitake and cook until fragrant.

Step 6 – Add the yuba and wood-ear and stir-fry 2-3 minutes

Add the yuba and wood-ear and stir-fry 2-3 minutes.

Step 7 – Pour in the soul sauce, drop to medium-low, cover, and

Pour in the soul sauce, drop to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5-7 minutes.

Step 8 – Uncover, pour in the starch slurry, and toss so everyth

Uncover, pour in the starch slurry, and toss so everything glazes.

Step 9 – Fold in the snow peas and toss about 3 minutes

Fold in the snow peas and toss about 3 minutes.

Step 10 – Out of the pan – and yes, another bowl of rice

Out of the pan – and yes, another bowl of rice.

Common Mistakes When Making This Dish

1. A short, uneven soak. Cause: hot water or little time. Fix: warm water, two hours. 2. Soggy snow peas. Cause: blanched to the boil or cooked long. Fix: color only, three minutes at the end. 3. A flat sauce. Cause: missing the ketchup or sugar. Fix: the full soul. 4. A gluey finish. Cause: too much starch. Fix: a little at a time. 5. A watery plate. Cause: no reduce. Fix: the covered five to seven.

Variations

Spicier: Chili with the garlic. No ketchup: Skip it for a cleaner soy taste. My yuba and shiitake braise is the faster vegetarian pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the soul sauce? The one-bowl mix – wine, soy, mushroom oyster, ketchup, sugar, pepper, and water. Why warm water for the soak? Two hours in warm water makes the yuba tender all the way through. Why fold the peas in last? They keep their crisp – the recipe’s warning. How long does it take? About 40 minutes with the soak. Is it spicy? Not at all – and my silken tofu potage is the soup to follow, golden pan-fried tofu the crisp plate.

How to Serve

Serve over rice – with yuba and shiitake braise, cold yuba salad, and home-style tofu for a vegetarian table, or with red braised tofu and braised tofu with bok choy for contrast.

Storage & Reheat

Refrigerate 2 days; reheat gently. Never leave out more than 2 hours.

Allergen Notice

This recipe contains soy (yuba, soy sauce). It is free of gluten (verify the sauces), dairy, egg, nuts, fish, and shellfish.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

About the Author & Recipe Development

I am Jason Guo, a Chinese chef who has cooked professionally for more than five years – including time as a head chef – and now runs my own small restaurant in China, where tofu appears on the menu almost every day. This xiachufang cook’s vegan yuba braise is the vegetarian plate I serve to skeptics, and the recipe’s soul-sauce bowl is exactly how I build flavor. I tested it as written. I have not tested it without the ketchup, so that is your experiment, not my claim.

Authoritative References

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Safe Temperature Chart for safe storage of cooked dishes.