Tofu stirfry

Last week I very spontaneously bought tofu from my local market, which offers very good organic tofu. Now, it's actually been ages that I have made tofu. Usually I have problems with frying it as it breaks into pieces or sticks to the pan (I've stopped using any non-stick pans). But, this time I knew I had to be careful with the temperatures to get it right, as I had an awakening while making paneer the last time! :) . So, I just checked the fridge for the other ingredients - the vegetables, and got going....

Ingredients:

1 packet (250 g) Tofu, cut into squares and pat dried with a kitchen roll
10 florets Broccoli
2 small carrrots, cut into small and thin slices
12 pieces crimini Mushrooms, quartered
1 small green bell pepper, cut into small and thin slices
a few scallions, cut into rings, along with the fresh green parts
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
3 cm piece ginger, scraped and finely grated
1 tsp fresh whole green pepper seeds
a few tbsp oil
soy sauce
sherry vinegar (it was an expensive but excellent replacement for rice vinegar)
2 tbsp corn starch (or any edible starch)
1/2 cup water (divided)
1/2 tsp shrimp paste (optional)

Method:

• Fry the tofu pieces on medium heat till they get a light yellowish tinge on one side, turn them around to fry both the sides, add some soy sauce and a few drops of sherry vinegar, stir gently and take out of the pan and keep warm
  
• Blanch, or just cook for short in some water, the carrots and broccoli.
  
• Stir fry green bellpeppers, scallion rings, and the carrots and broccoli in some oil on high heat. Add some soy sauce and a dash of vinegar, stir and take out and keep warm
• Stir fry the garlic and ginger and mushrooms, on high heat until they get a crispy brown colour
• Add the reremaining vegetables back to it and stir gently. Add some more soy sauce, if required
  
• Add some soy sauce, vinegar and a few tbsp water to corn starch in a small bowl to mix and them add rest of the water tp make a thin soupy mixture, add shrimp paste to it
  
• Add this to the pan and let cook covered, first on high heat and reduce heat immidiately to low, stir once gently and cover for another 2 minutes
• Serve with warm rice amd some chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

This turned out quite good, better than I had expected and left us all quite satisfied after the meal. And although shrimp paste is not a typical ingredient of chinese food, it was not at all out of place and added very much to the taste, but can be easily left out as well.
One thing I plan to try out in the future is the fermented black bean curd. I'm learning!