Steamed Soft Bean Curd

A few years back, in KL, I discovered this custard-like soft silken tofu at Tesco Mutiara Damansara where I normally go for my weekly grocery shopping.  Sometimes if you are lucky, you would get to meet celebrities here…well it’s not that I want to see those celebrities so much but my house is just a walking distance from Ikea so it’s convenient for me. This was where I met the former Selangor MB Dato’ Seri Khalid Ibrahim, shopping for groceries…well hey…how often do you get to see that in Sabah…no police escort…no bodyguards…just him and his wife…at that time he was still very much the MB…

This is a very simple recipe but sometimes the humblest recipes make the best meals.   Please use fresh cooking oil to fry the shallots. I know some of us who reused their cooking oil for fear of spending more money than is necessary but using fresh oil every time you cook is the healthiest option.

Steamed Soft Bean Curd   

Ingredients

1 piece soft tofu

2 tbsp oil

2 shallots - sliced

2 tbsp of chopped cilantro

½ cup water

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tsp dark soy sauce

½ tsp chicken stock granules

Instructions

Steam the tofu at high heat for 7 minutes. Remove the tofu from the steamer and discard the excess water.

Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil and sauté the sliced shallots until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the shallots. Pour the fried shallots together with the oil directly over the tofu.

In a bowl, mix the water, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and chicken stock granules then transfer the mixture into a wok. Bring to a boil.  Then carefully pour over the tofu.

Finally, garnish with chopped cilantro on top. Serve hot.      

Sizzling Silken Egg Tofu

I grew up eating Chinese food and I just love silken egg tofu. Each time when we dined out, I will always order this dish. Cooked in the sizzling style, the runny egg, the delicious sauce and the soft tofu, it’s just beyond words. Whoever invented this dish is a genius! 

Dining out with children sometimes can be very expensive. My daughter sometimes orders the most expensive item on the restaurant menu and then won't eat it. She always has an excuse... my stomach hurts, my head hurts, etc.

So today I want to share this recipe which my children gave the dish stamp of approval, exclaiming that it taste exactly the same as that in the restaurant.

Sizzling Silken Egg Tofu

Ingredients

2 blocks of silken egg tofu - cut into pieces (1-inch thickness)

4 tbsp plain flour / tapioca flour – for coating

¼ cup chicken flesh – minced

1 clove of garlic – peeled and minced

1-inch ginger – peeled and sliced

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 whole egg

1 stalk spring onion – chopped into thin slices (optional)

The sauce ingredients

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 cup & 2 tbsp of water

½ tbsp. chicken stock powder

½ tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp ground pepper

½ tsp sesame oil

Thickening

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp water

Method

1.    In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and stir to evenly mix everything to make a thin sauce. Set aside.

2.    Coat the tofu pieces with plain / tapioca flour then heat up enough oil on a non-stick pan for shallow frying. Carefully add the tofu and pan fry them both sides until golden. Dish out and drain on absorbent kitchen paper towels. Set aside.

3.    Heat up the cooking oil in a wok then sauté the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the minced chicken and stir until the chicken turn white. Pour in the sauce and the thickening then bring to a boil until the sauce thickens.

4.    Meanwhile place the hot plate on the stove and heat up over medium heat until it is really hot.  Crack the egg on the center of the hot plate then remove and place it on its wooden platter.

5.    Stir in the tofu to the bubbling sauce and carefully pour the tofu and its sauce over the egg on the hot plate.

6.    Garnish with spring onion and serve immediately.