Healthy and gluten free bean curd skin with tomato pasta sauce | 健康又美味的无麸质干豆腐皮配意大利番茄酱

Bean curd skin is also known as tofu skin, is a byproduct of soy milk. It is similar to Yuba ( 腐竹皮) but slightly thicker and  rough texture. One thing I like about bean curd skin is its sweet flavor, it tastes soft of eggy to me. To use, just separate the sheets and cut them into thin strips like Chinese noodles.  
 
The main criticism of bean curd skin is that it will not absorb much liquid sauce when cooked. So, to get the pasta sauce to stick to the bean curd skin, you can make the sauce thicker (simmer it for a while if it is thin) and toss the bean curd skin strips in the sauce.   

Below is a comparison of Nutrition Facts labels of Spaghetti (top), Bean curd skin (bottom left) and Rotini (bottom right). You can see that 100g of bean curd skin provides 270kcal, about 25% fewer calories than spaghetti (363 Kcal, 1 KJ = 0.2388 Kcal) and Rotini (359 Kcal). Bean curd skin is also a great source of protein. It provides 25.8g of protein, at least double the amount of protein in Spaghetti (12g) and Rotini (13.5g). 
  

Ingredients: 

1 package of bean curd skin (cut into strips) 

1 bottle Prego Italian sauce traditional (14 oz)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 slides ginger (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup water

Few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt.

Preparation:  

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Cook garlic and ginger in oil for 1 minute. 
3. Stir in onion and bell pepper, and cook until soft. 
4. Mix in Prego Italian sauce and water, and then cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  
5. Add bean curd skin and cook for another 2 minutes. 
6. Season with salt and black pepper.  
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro and cherry tomatoes. 
8. Serve warm and enjoy!

For those who are serious about gluten free diet, this Prego Italian sauce is gluten free. It is made by Campbell's soup company, they publish a list of gluten-free products on their website at this link. 

意大利面你吃得多，有没有试过用干豆腐皮搭配意大利番茄酱？除了自己本身很爱吃番茄意大利面，其实我做这道菜肴其中一个想法就是想帮助一些有麸质不耐症 (Gluten intolerance) 的朋友，因为很多粥米面饭他们都不能吃，所以能够帮助他们设计一些饮食、自己也蛮开心的。

没有麸质不耐症的朋友也可以常吃，因为干豆腐皮的卡路里比一般的意大利面条少25%，而且蛋白质也高出一般。很适合正在做保健或减肥的朋友。

以上的干豆腐皮，在很多菜市、豆腐摊位都能买到。这些干豆腐皮跟一般腐竹有点不一样，它的表面有点丰厚、吃起來Q弹，而且容易撕成片状、然后以个人喜欢去切成不同厚度的面条。

材料不用很多，以简单为主：
1. 一包干豆腐皮
2. 一小瓶 Prego 意大利番茄酱
3. 一些蒜头、姜和洋葱切碎
4. 半个红灯笼辣椒切碎
5. 半杯水
6. 黑胡椒和盐少许做调味

做法：
1. 先放少许食油、蒜头、姜爆香。
2. 加入洋葱和红灯笼辣椒炒1分钟变软。
3. 加入意大利番茄酱和半杯水转小火，继续烹调2分钟。
4. 加入切好的干豆腐面条，继续烹调2分钟。
5. 加入少许黑胡椒和盐做调味，拌匀。
6. 起锅后放入香菜和小番茄即可。  

References:
 1. How to tell if you are gluten intolerant by Dr. Mark Hymen: Click here
2. Comparison of food calories by Two Foods - Instant Food comparison: Click here