HOcHIAK! DeLICIOuS AsIaN F00d !

S!ZZlINg TOfU..nYUM NyUM!

CrisPy CrumBed ToFu

One of my favourite dishes at Chinese restaurants is the Sizzling Tofu. Tofu is first pre-fried before being laid on a hot plate. As the minced pork gravy is poured over it, the hot plate sizzles and hence, its name. Over at home, we don’t have a hot plate. So, sizzling tofu is out of the picture. But we can always do something similar in taste, can’t we?

I use Japanese Tofu in this recipe. They come in tubes and I have chosen the tofu which has eggs as part of its ingredient as it is more flavourful and has a nice yellow colour to it (though I wonder whether it is colouring or natural colour from the egg yolk). Anyway, you can always buy them from the supermarkets and are readily available. The other ingredient is minced pork. Extras include chinese dried mushrooms / shiitake mushrooms and carrots – both to boost up the flavours and colour. I have omitted eggs in this dish (usually sizzling tofu would have an egg broken over the tofu as it sizzles on the hot plate).

This is my recipe for Japanese Tofu 

• 2 to 3 tubes of Japanese Tofu (see cooking method below)
• 50 – 100 grammes minced pork
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• Sliced carrots (amount up to you)
• 3 to 5 pieces of chinese dried mushrooms (pre-soaked and cut into small pieces)
• Corn starch (mix 1 tablespoon corn flour with 5 tablespoons water)
• 2 tablespoons of Corn flour
• 100 ml warm water
• Sufficient oil for deep frying (palm oil preferred)

Marinade (for minced pork)

• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• a few dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning

• 1/2 tablespoon or more of dark soya sauce
• 1 heaped teaspoon of oyster sauce
• Salt and white pepper powder to taste

Method

To prepare tofu, cut across the tofu tube. Gently push the tofu out of the tube from the closed end. Cut tofu across at not more than 2 cm thick. Dust the tofu lightly with corn flour.

Heat oil in wok. Deep fry the tofu till golden brown, remove and set aside on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Place fried tofu on a serving plate.

Remove oil from wok leaving about 2 tablespoons in it. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute or longer till aromatic. Add minced pork and stir well. When minced pork is half-cooked, add carrots. Continue to stir fry till minced pork cooked / seared on the outside. Add seasoning followed by warm water and allow to boil for 1 minute.

Thicken gravy to your liking using a teaspoon of corn starch at a time. Pour gravy over the tofu and serve hot with steamed white rice.