Chinese bean curd — House of Hsu

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When I think about my go-to dishes, House of Hsu’s Chinese bean curd immediately comes to mind. I’ve been ordering this dish from the Grand Ledge restaurant for about 30 years. Its current owners have kept faithful to the House of Hsu (actually pronounced “she”) tradition of making a sauce that is unlike that of any other Chinese restaurant I’ve visited.

And the restaurant’s bean curd dish is delightfully slathered in the stuff. The bean curd (triangular pieces of fried tofu) is mixed with bok choy, baby peapods, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and broccoli. It normally comes spicy with full cayenne peppers, but I ask for a mild version that still has pepper bits and is plenty spicy for me. It’s served with fluffy white rice — or lo mein noodles, a personal favorite, on request.

I also ask for my tofu to be prepared extra crispy, but the results of that request vary from visit to visit. Sometimes the bean curd is still a bit soft for my tastes, but the aforementioned sauce diminishes any complaints. I’d probably eat floor sweepings or a paper shredder’s contents if they were soaked in House of Hsu’s sauce.

The restaurant offers a full menu for pick-up, but I prefer to grab a padded booth inside the dark wood accented Asian-style dining room. As for that age-old Chinese food complaint that you’ll just be hungry again in 30 minutes, there are two pizza joints within walking distance.

David Winkelstern
House of Hsu11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; noon-10 p.m. Saturday; noon-9 p.m. Sunday639 E. Saginaw Highway, Grand Ledge(517) 627-4232, houseofhsugrandledge.com

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