Experiment 16: Sweet and Sour! Tofu Stew

Prelab:
Let's see. I was in a slump and wasn't in the mood to cook. But because they left me without any cooked food, I decided to cook lunch. Originally, I wanted to cook spicy tofu, but for some reason I couldn't taste the 'spicy' element. I then decided to change it into a sour stew. The consistency was too watery, so I added some flour. Later on, it felt like it tasted too sour, so I thought I'd add some brown sugar. I refrained from adding too much sugar because my folks don't like anything with sugar. That's about it.

Date Performed: Dec. 17, 2009

Ingredients:
300 g ground beef
3 tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tsp salt
165 g tofu, cut into cubes (2x2 cm) [or about 1 cup of tofu]
5 small cloves of garlic, diced
2 cups water
1 cup vinegar
500 g Baguio pechay (it's a little pale compared to Napa pechay)
4 pieces okra, bite-size chop
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
pepper

Preparation:
In a pot, put hot sauce and sesame oil. Mix and heat slowly under low fire. Shortly after, add ground beef. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Add onion and salt and let it simmer for 6 minutes. Add water and garlic, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add tofu and let it simmer for 5 minutes (or until light brown). Add pechay and okra and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Put in two eggs and cook for about 4 minutes. Then, add flour and stir to thicken the soup's consistency. Add soy sauce and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add pepper to taste.

Post-lab:
It passed for mon pere, but for ma mere with a bland taste, it's too sour and quite spicy. I, on the other hand, couldn't taste the 'spicy' element at all, or distinguish the other flavors besides slight sweetness and sour taste in the soup. Mon pere says it tastes too sweet at a glance, but upon a second taste the sour taste overwhelms the sweetness.
Phew!