About the Recipe
"Yong Tau Foo" (酿豆腐), often transliterated as "Yong Tofu" or "Yong Tau Fu," is a widely popular and versatile dish with origins in Hakka Chinese cuisine. While its literal translation means "stuffed tofu," the dish has evolved considerably beyond just tofu to encompass a diverse array of fresh ingredients.
At its core, Yong Tau Foo involves stuffing various food items with a prepared filling, traditionally a mixture of seasoned vegetarian minced meat and/or fish paste. The "stuffing" technique (nyiong in Hakka) is a testament to the Hakka people's historical resourcefulness, born from their migrations and adaptations to new environments where wheat flour for dumplings was scarce. Tofu became an excellent substitute, providing a soft vehicle for savory fillings.
Ingredients
Filling
1 KG Textured Vegetable Protein Crumbles
1 KG Vegetarian Lamb
5 tbsp Salt
5 tbsp Mushroom Powder
5 tbsp Sugar
20 Eggs
200 grams Cornflour
Note: The filling can be substituted with Su Tung vegetarian premade flavored soy protein, an imported product available at vegetarian grocery stores.
Remaining Ingredients
50 pieces Tofu (6 cm x 6 cm)
50 Tofu Puffs
2 KG Eggplants
30 Okras
30 Red Chillies
Some Vegetarian Oyster Sauce to serve
Preparation
Step 1
Soak the textured vegetable protein (TVP) in water until soft.
Step 2
Rinse softened TVP thoroughly with water several times until the smell has been washed away. Strain excess water in softened TVP as much as possible.
Step 3
Add salt, sugar and mushroom powder into softened TVP mix well and marinate it in fridge overnight.
Step 4
Defrost vegetarian lamb and use immersion blender or food processor to grind it into mince.
Step 5
Mix marinated TVP and vegetarian lamb mince together then add oil, eggs and cornflour mix evenly.
Step 6
Stuff filling into tofu pieces, eggplant pieces, okras, red chillies and tofu puffs.
Step 7
Meanwhile, heat the palm oil in a frying pan. When hot approximately 160℃, cook stuffed tofus, okras, eggplants, chillies and tofu puffs until golden.
Step 8
Arrange them nicely on plate to serve or with some veg mushroom oyster sauce.