Tofu Meat Balls Rock-a-pop-pop

Using potato flour 地瓜粉 will give a more springy (QQ-with dialect connotation) texture of deep-fried coat when compared to the crisp golden coat from cornflour + breadcrumbs (panko) combination. The former still has that crunch to it... just of a lesser degree. I've said, tried and done it in these nori seaweed coated shrimps and repeating this again with pork-tofu mix. Try the steamed version of tofu "pops" if you are opting for super-healthy version. However, "pops" and "steaming" just do not gel together in my head. Fit for a family-style sit-down homemade meal perhaps - this steamed Tofu Balls, and maybe Stir Fry Tofu with Shrimps and Mushrooms, but in a party, THIS is definitely a more welcoming snack! Deep Fried Tofu Pops! Rock-a-pop-pop!


Not at all messy. Bite on these mini tofu pops and beware of "juice" spurting out...

Tofu Pops/Deep Fried Tofu Meat Balls
Ingredients:
-1/2 lb or slightly lesser ground pork or chicken
-1 pack of standard size tofu (Note: silken contains more moisture and the resultant "pop" tend to be more "juicy", not dry. You can use medium-soft or firm but the texture is going to be different)
-1 egg white (as binder)
-1 tbsp soy sauce to season/marinade the pork
-1 tbsp rice wine to season/marinade the pork
- dashes of white pepper to season/marinade the pork
- less than 1 tsp sesame oil to season/marinade the pork
- cornflour to thicken the tofu+meat batter/mixture if too hard to shape into little rounds (plays a binder role, too)
- potato flour for coating

Directions:
1. Mash up the tofu and mix with seasoned ground pork. Add in egg white and mix thoroughly
2. When in a consistency easy to be shape, make rounds out of the mixture (similar to making fish balls from fish paste)
3. Dust or roll them over a light coat of potato flour, set aside

4. Prepare hot oil in wok for deep frying
5. Slide those rounds by the side of the wok into the medium-hot oil to be deep fried
6. When starts to change color to light brown, strain out from hot oil and set aside to drain excess oil from paper towels
7. Before serving, you can dash a lil' white pepper over the tofu pops to enhance the flavor. Also, sprinkle some nori strips or flakes.



Warm, moist inside...crisp and chewy outside...

I was trying to think of a better description - the texture of crisp and chewy. Hmmm....it is almost like mochi... daifuku...the chewy portion...springy (go *toint toint*). Why not you think of a warm crispy mochi-coat of something? You are almost there. And the filling is a familiar taste of savory mix of meat and tofu. That is not too difficult to imagine?

Definitely more finger-friendly than steamed tofu. So you gotta try it! Rock-a-pop-pop! Once you pop, you cannot stop!

Tag: tofu balls, fried snacks, snacks, party food

Pork with Tofu, Shrimps, and Mushrooms

Imagine. Dream. Fantasize...the juicy texture of perfectly cooked ground pork, the springy bite in those shrimps, and soft silky tofu - oh, will they ever fight for "who's best" ? Their co-existence goes far without much elaboration. A burst of flavor and texture nuances that are never in conflict - that's a home-kept recipe of Pork with Tofu, Shrimps, and Mushrooms.


There are many ways to cook and vary this dish and this is my homemade version of Pork with Tofu, Shrimps, and Mushrooms. Using the essence of pork, earthy flavor of mushrooms, and that seafood unami in shrimps, combined with the soft silky texture of tofu - multiple flavors and texture profiles but never a single misfit.

Pork with Tofu, Shrimps, and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
-1/4 lb minced/ground pork
-4-6 medium size shrimps/prawns, diced to small pieces, as shown
-2-3 shitake mushrooms, diced to small pieces, as shown
-1 small box silken tofu, cubed to bite size
-2 stalks scallions, cut to small pieces (Note: separating the bottom "white" harder scallion -portions and the "remaining green")
-1tsp dried shrimps (Note: secret ingredient for this dish)
-3 gloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1tsp crush ginger
-1tsp oyster sauce
-salt and white pepper
-water, adjust accordingly

Directions:
1. Heat 1tbsp oil in frying pan. At low-medium heat, add sliced garlic, ginger, white portions of the scallions and fry quickly till fragrant (爆香有 三 宝: 葱 , 姜, 蒜 一 样 都不能少). Then add dried shrimps and fry till fragrant. Once fragrant, add pork - using the frying ladle to "disintegrate" the pork (Note: prevent clumping) and turn down the heat so that the pork will not toughen and become rubbery under high heat. (Tip: to prevent overcooking in pork, you can also dish up pork and set aside)
2. Add in shrimps and mushrooms, mix well. Pinch of salt. Once the shrimps turn color (to pink), add in tofu, oyster sauce and water that sufficiently covers the 3/4 of the ingredients mixture in the pan
3. Allow low heat simmering for about 5-8mins. (Note: If you have set aside the pork earlier on, add in halfway during this simmering process and continue to let it simmer for the rest of the duration. The pork will be cook through in the entire simmering process)
4. Once the sauce starts to reduce, generously dash in white pepper
5. When almost ready to be dish up, add in green portions of the scallions, mix well, turn off heat

Serve immediately...best with steamed rice.

You may have never thought...pork and shrimps can harmonize so well!

Also check out shrimps mixed with ground chicken in these fried beancurd skin rolls, and fish mixed with shrimps in these cabbage rolls. Shrimps are so sociable, are they not? :P

P.S I did not cook this over the weekend but I wrote this post over the weekend - makes it a Weekend Snapshot for me :P It was voting weekend in Taiwan and we wanted to stay at home in the event of any protests or riots happening along the streets!

Tag: prawns, shrimps, tofu,pork

Braised Tofu Beancurd with Spinach and Mushrooms - Three Storey Tofu

Braised Tofu/Beancurd with Pureed Spinach and Bumashimeiji(Honshimeiji) Mushrooms

Ingredients:
-1 block tofu (medium or silken),
-1cup chopped spinach, blanched
-1.5oz bumashimeiji(honshimeiji) mushrooms

Sauce:
-1/2cup water
-2tsp oyster sauce
-1tsp dark soya sauce
-1tsp brown sugar

Directions:
1. Place chopped spinach on top of tofu blocks and steam of 5 minutes (Note: drain off some moisture in the tofu after steaming)
2. Cut spinach topped tofu cut into serving size (and gently fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain well, set aside


3. With a little oil, add mushromms and fry.
4. Mix ingredient for sauce together and add to mushroom mixture, adjust amount of water (add more) if too salty (adjust to taste), then allow sauce to reduce
5. Add a little cornflur to thicken sauce, and pour over spinach tofu
6. Serve immediately



Even the sight of this pleases me....


Tag: mushrooms, vegetarian

Steamed tofu balls

Steamed Tofu Balls
Ingredients
-orange or red peppers, julienned
-some enoki, buna shimeiji mushrooms
- soft/silken bean curd(1 small std size block or 1/2 big block) (Note: I recommend changing and using medium or firm tofu as I find that silken tofu gives too much moisture after mashing, "lose ALL its structure and integrity" and makes it hard to shape)
-1/2lb minced chicken
-1 egg white

Seasoning A
-salt
-1/2 tsp ginger juice
-some corn flour

Seasoning B
-salt
-1/2 tsp ginger juice
-1tbsp chinese cooking wine
-1tbsp corn flour

Directions:
1. Mash/puree bean curd tofu
2. Combine chicken and tofu in a bowl. Add egg white and Seasoning A. Mix well
3. Shape bean curd mixture into balls, and place on plate. Top with peppers and mushrooms , steam over high heat till cooked.
4. In saucepan, add Seasoning B and bring to boil. Pour over tofu balls. Serve immediately.



These steamed tofu balls are different from the Pipa Tofu I've tried to make much earlier, though the "mashing/pureeing and shaping" are similar. The Pipa Tofu that were deep-fried a little, then braised, were heavier on taste; compared to these steamed ones which are lighter in taste yet still delicious. The latter were also a lot easier to make since no deep-frying steps were involved. The steamed tofu balls are indeed another delight for me!

Tag: tofu, beancurd, steamed tofu

Green beans with five-spice tofu

Green beans contain vitamin A through their concentration of carotenoids of beta-carotene, and vitamin C. These two nutrients are important antioxidants that reduce free radicals in the body. Vitamin C as a water-soluble antioxidant and beta-carotene as a fat-soluble antioxidant.

The other ingredient I using for this salad is...Tofu.

Tofu - a soy protein that we might not know of specific antioxidants. But tofu does contain nutrients such as selenium, that is needed for the proper function of the antioxidant system, which works to reduce the levels of damaging free radicals in the body. The tofu used here is five spice dried tofu (五香豆腐, in Mandarin) - a kind of dried tofu pre-seasoned with special blends of spices - in this case, "five spice". In substitution of five spice, all-spice is sometimes used.


How nice to combine these two ingredients together. Green beans are versatile, tasty vegetables. Don't overcook them or they'll become limpy, limpy, limpy...nasty nasty nasty.


You can blanch the green beans and then toss in with the tofu that has been cut into strips. You can also stir fry the green beans and tofu with minced garlic.

Tag: tofu, five spice tofu, vegetables, green beans

Braised bittergourd with chicken and tofu

Braised bittergourd with chicken and tofu


Usually like my bittergourds cooked till soft


Ok. I know some of you do not like bittergourds

Other quick and easy recipes:

Steamed bittergourds stuffed with pork


Bittergourd soup

Tag: vegetables, karela, bittergourd, bitter melon, steamed bittergourd

Vegetarian Beancurd Roll

Vegetarian Beancurd Roll (makes ~6 rolls)
Ingredients:
- some beancurd sheets, and nori sheets (Note: If you cannot get beancurd sheets, you can substitute by spring roll wrappers, but you may have to deep-fry the final product)
-1 pack regular firm tofu
- 1-2 cups brown crimini mushrooms, chopped finely to small pieces (Note: Substitute with shitake mushrooms if you wish)
- 1 stalk of celery, cleaned throughly, chopped to small pieces
- 1 cup mixed (frozen) vegetables - corn, carrots, peas and/or long beans
- 1tbsp oyster sauce
- salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a saute pan and stir fry the mushrooms, celery and mixed vegetables. Add in oyster sauce and some salt and pepper to taste
2. Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool.
3. Meanwhile, mash the tofu in a deep mixing bowl. When the vegetable mixture has cooled slightly, add the mixture into the mashed tofu and mix well


4. While waiting for mixture to cool, prepare the beancurd sheets (Note: available in most Asian supermarkets) and nori sheets


5. Wrap the rolls like what I did to my shrimp rolls
6. Steam the rolls for 6-8mins to soften the beancurd skin and warm up the entire tofu fillings (Note: If you have uncooked meat in the rolls, steaming is one way to cook the meat before deep-frying. Usually, the deep-frying, particularly if the rolls are big and fat, is done just to give that nice golden brown outer on the rolls, and not to cook the meat inside the rolls)


7. Before serving, bake and warm in oven, ~5-8 mins, to get some crispness on the rolls (Note: This will also ensure your guests are always served warm food)






Tag: beancurd skin, vegetarian, tofu, beancurd skin roll, appetizer, snacks

Gado Gado - Vegetables in peanut sauce dressing

Gado Gado - Vegetables in peanut sauce dressing (serves 2-3)


Ingredients:
-3cups cabbage, shredded
-3cups long beans, cut into 5cm lengths
-2cups baby carrots
-1 medium-size potato, boiled in its skin, then peeled and cubed
-1/2 a block of firm beancurd, cubed and deep-fried
-1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
-1 hard-boiled eggs, halved
-1tsp fried shallots

Method:
-Blanch long beans, carrots and cabbage till just tender (Note: Add the cabbage 5-8mins after the long beans and carrots, since cabbage takes shorter time to cook)
-Heat up the peanut sauce
-Toss all the vegetables in peanut sauce
-Tuck in!


Oh, wait, wait wait...there is one missing ingredient here. Can anybody guess what is it ?

Thai Style Hot and Spicy Fried Tofu/Bean Curd

Thai Style Hot and Spicy Fried Tofu/Bean Curd (serves 2)

Ingredients:
-1 block firm beancurd/tofu, cut into bite sized cubes
-oil for deep frying
-100g ground pork
-1stalk lemon grass chopped finely
-1tsp chopped chilli padi or dashes of red chilli pepper flakes

Seasoning:
-2tbsp lime juice
-1tbsp sugar
-200mlwater/broth

Method:
1. Heat up oil for deep-frying, deep fry bean curd till golden brown. Dish and drain, set aside

2.Heat up oil and saute all ingredients till fragrant
3. Add in ground pork, stir well, add in seasoning and bring to boil. Add in fried bean curd, mix well and serve immediately


Tag: tofu, beancurd, lemongrass, thai style beancurd,weekend herb blogging

Spinach soup with tofu, wolfberries and shitake

Spinach soup with tofu, wolfberries and shitake(serves 2)
Ingredients:
-2 blocks medium-sized silken tofu, rinsed gently, then drained and place each block in a bowl
-~0.75lb spinach, washed and cleaned
-1/4 lb ground pork
-2tbsp wolfberries (Pablopabla, hawthorn same as wolf?)
-6 shitake mushrooms, wiped with damp kitchen towels, stalks removed, caps julienned
-1tsp dried anchovies, soaked in warm water, then rinsed off
-750ml water
-salt, to taste

Method:
1. Boil water in a soup pot. When boiled, add dried anchovies, ground pork, mushrooms, and wolfberries to the water, add salt to taste

2. In the same pot, blanch the spinach(1min). When blanched, set aside the spinach (Note: I did not cook the spinach together with the soup, just in case I overcook the spinach while boiling the soup unattended). Alternatively(non-blanching method), you can add in spinach, last, when everything is just about ready to be served.
3.Use some boiling water to drizzle over the tofu, then rinsed away the water after 30 secs. Repeat 3 times. This will ensure tofu is warm when served.
3.Place blanched spinach around tofu in a bowl (Note: This is also part of the reason why I set aside the spinach in 2., so that the spinach act as a base for the soft soft tofu to sit comfortably as a whole).
4. Pour soup (of anchovies, minced pork, mushrooms, wolfberries) over tofu and spinach.


Tag: tofu, beancurd, wolfberries,spinach, soup

Pipa tofu

Pipa tofu (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
-1 block silken tofu
-1/3lbs minced pork(you can use shrimps and chop it finely in food processor till like a paste)
-2 stalks scallions
-1 small carrot, washed and peeled
-1 egg
-1tbsp cornstarch
-~1lb boy choy, washed, cut into sections and blanched

Sauce(mix together):
-1tbsp soy sauce
-4tbsp chicken broth/stock
-1tbsp cornflour

Method:
1.Drain the tofu and mash it up in a bowl

2. Add the minced pork to the tofu
3. Chop 2 of the stalks of scallion and mince the carrot; then add 1.5 of the quantity of chopped scallions and all the carrot to the tofu and minced pork

4.Add egg, salt and cornflour. Mix the contents of the bowl until well combined
5.Heat oil at high in a pan. Use a spoon to scoop up about a tablespoon of tofu mixture at a time; shape it into an ovaloid ball, then drop into the hot oil. (Note: Do not overcrowd – you’ll probably only be able to cook 4-5 at a time. Turn them gently in the oil, deep-frying until golden brown)
6. Remove with a slotted spoon and let them drain on paper towels while you continue shaping and cooking the remainder of the mixture. (Note: Be careful when handling the tofu, as the tofu is fairly delicate)
7. To make the sauce, heat 1tsp of oil in a clean saucepan and stir-fry the remaining scallion until fragrant, add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Thicken with the cornflour.
8. Arrange the cooked greens on a plate, with the tofu ovaloids on top. Pour the sauce on top and serve.



Tag: tofu, beancurd, pipa tofu

Steamed tofu with minced meat

Steamed tofu with minced meat (serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
-1 block firm tofu/beancurd
-1/2lb minced pork
-1tbsp chopped shallots
-1/2tsp dried anchovies, soaked in warm water, rinsed off, and chopped finely
-1/2tsp dried shrimps, soaked in warm water, rinsed off, and chopped finely
-1tbsp chopped scallions/spring onions
-1tbsp oil

Seasoning:
1/2tsp dark soy sauce
1/2tsp sugar
dash of sesame oil and pepper

Method:
1.Steam the tofu at high heat for 10-15mins
2.While the tofu is steaming, heat up 1tbsp oil and saute the chopped shallots till fragrant. Add in dried anchovies and shrimps and fry till aromatic
3.Stir in minced pork, spring onions, seasoning, and mix well. (Do a taste test here. As I've added anchovies and shrimps for that crunchy texture, I did not have to use a lot of soy sauce since dried anchovies and dried shrimps are already salty. You can adjust the amt. of soy sauce based on your preference.)
4.Remove and place over steamed tofu

Tag: tofu, beancurd, steamed tofu

Mapo tofu

Mapo tofu
Ingredients:
-1 ready-packed "regular" tofu, cut into bite-size pieces
-minced pork (remainder from what was used for the pork balls)
-Lee Kum Kee chilli bean paste (a.k.a tou ban jiang)
-minced garlic

Method:
-heat some canola oil in frying pan
-add the minced garlic to flavor the oil
-add the minced pork and fry (on medium-high heat) for 2-3 mins
-add the chilli bean paste; then some water, to de-glaze the pork and bean paste from the pan, as well as for the gravy
-finally, add the tofu, mix well into the spicy sauce and simmer, covered for 3-5 mins

Ready to serve:

Tag: mapo tofu, tofu, beancurd, lee kum kee