Taro, Tofu and Mushroom Stir-fry

This is one of the easiest dishes I have ever prepared... and with only 4 major ingredients, too!

The secret to the dish is a good XO sauce!

Basically saute onions, garlic and ginger.  Add a tablespoon of XO sauce and let the sauce cook for several seconds.  Add the taro (sliced into thick strips) and stir fry until almost done.  Throw in cubed tofu (1 big block of tofu) and mushrooms (any kind you prefer is fine) and stir fry some more.  Adjust seasonings and then you're done!

Seaweed Tofu in (Homemade) XO Sauce

Last Christmas, a dear friend gave me a wonderful gift... homemade XO sauce.  She told me that it was the best ever and it was great even if used solely in any dish.

Well, of course I wanted to test it out. And this dish would showcase that claim well...

The verdict?  Yes, it is very, very good.  It is the best I've tasted!

The dish is so simple but you wouldn't know it from its taste using the XO sauce friend C gave!

Just slice 2 cubes of seaweed tofu into cubes or slices.  Marinate in a tablespoon or two of light soy sauce for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Then saute onions and garlic with a spoonful of the XO sauce.  Throw the tofu in and stir gently until the tofu is coated with XO sauce and heated through.

Done!

Thanks, Friend C!

Steamed Ground Meat Tofu

I had originally wanted to make Coral Tofu, which is a 3-in-1 dish.  But, for whatever reason, I ended up with something else.

I'm not exactly sure what the dish is but I based it on a childhood dish - firm steamed eggs but not with eggs, and with the meat on the top (instead of at the bottom).  And, Baguio pechay leaves on the bottom.

I made medium-sized dish for my mom and smaller individual dishes for us.

Hubby put a bit of thick mushroom soy sauce on his portion, because he felt it a bit bland (no salt, remember?) but overall he liked it!

2 blocks of soft tofu
300 to 350 grams lean ground meat
3 to 4 pieces dried mushrooms, rehydrated and diced
2 cloves garlic, grated
half a thumb of ginger, grated
1 egg yolk
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoon soy sauce, separated
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
spring onions
Bagiuo pechay leaves

Rinse and drain the tofu.  Cut half of 1 tofu and mash it finely.  Mix with the lean ground meat and diced mushrooms.  Add the grated garlic, grated ginger, egg yolk, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and black pepper.  Mix lightly, set aside.

Mash the remaining tofu and mix with 1 egg, milk, 1 tablespoon soy sauce pepper, and cornstarch.

Start heating the steamer.

Prepare 6 to 8 custard cups (glass cups that can be used for steaming).  Line the bottom with Baguio pechay leaves (also known as Chinese cabbage).  Divide the mixtures into 6 to 8, depending on your custard cups (I made 5 individual servings and 1 double serving).  Place the tofu mixture on top of the pechay leaves and place the meat mixture on top of the tofu,

Steam on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.  Garnish with sliced spring onions.

Tofu, Shrimp and Celery Stir-fry

This is a simple dish.  But it tastes great, and is ready is less than 30 minutes!

Cube 1 to 2 blocks of firm tofu.  Marinate is light soya sauce (about 1 tablespoon); set aside for a few minutes.

Shell and devein about 15 pieces of shrimp (save the shells for another use).  Rinse well and pat dry.  Slice celery (several "stems")at a diagonal.  Slice a small thumb of ginger in thin slices.

Saute ginger.  Add the celery and stir fry several seconds.  Add the shrimp and cook over medium heat until half done.  Add the tofu and stir gently.  Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Talaba, Tokwa at Tausi

(in English:  Oysters, Tofu and Fermented Soy Beans)

As always I could not resist buying oysters (talaba in the vernacular)!  Especially those that were fresh, and really big!  But alas, it was the last of the batch and came up only about 350 grams.  It was certainly not enough for dinner - we were 5, with rather big appetites!  What to do then? 

Tokwa (firm tofu) to the rescue!

The recipe is very easy too!

Rinse 350 grams of shucked oysters and drain lightly.  Meanwhile, slice 2 to 3 blocks of very firm tofu (tokwa in the vernacular) into cubes roughly the same size as the talaba; set aside.  Slice 3 to 4 stalks of leeks into thin, diagonal slices; separate the white part from the green part.  Prepare a tablespoon (or more depending on your taste and the brand) of tausi, or fermented black beans; lightly crush with a fork.  Prepare a few slices of ginger.

Saute the ginger and white part of the leeks until softened then add the tausi.  Stir fry a few seconds then throw in the tokwa cubes; stir the pot.  When the tokwa takes on the color of the tausi, add the oysters.  Cook briefly, until the oysters are just cooked.  Season to taste; personally I did not have to since the tausi has a lot of flavor and saltiness already!  If there is a lot of liquid, thicken with cornstarch slurry.  Garnish with the green part of the leeks and serve.  It's great as rice topping!

Minced Pork and Shitake over Steamed Tofu

This is a variation of the basic steamed tofu dish (which is just steamed tofu topped with thick soya sauce).  A bit more complicated than the Century Eggs over Steamed Tofu but delicious all the same.

Here's the recipe:

2 blocks of tofu
2 thin slices of ginger
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloved garlic, minced
1 teaspoon XO sauce
4 pieces dried shitake, rehydrated and diced
200 grams ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
water
cornstarch slurry

Steam the tofu (I do this in the rice cooker, on top of cooking rice!  Saves on energy!).

Saute the ginger until lightly browned; then discard.  Saute the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.  Add the XO sauce and stir-fry until fragrant.  Put in the mushrooms and ground pork.  Season with soy sauce and oyster sauce.  The mixture should exude some liquid, if not, add a few tablespoons of stock or water.  Adjust seasonings to your taste (hubby likes a bit of chili for some heat!).  Thicken with cornstarch slurry.  Pour over steamed tofu.

Tofu-Noodles Soup

We were buying tofu for hubby's dinner when I saw a container of what looked like noodles.  My curiosity got the better of me and I asked what they were.  The saleslady said they were tofu noodles, meant to be cooked like noodles whether stir-fried or in soup.  She warned me though, that the "noodles" would not be soft like regular egg noodles.  These "tofu" noodles were chewy all the way.

Hubby was interested in the idea of tofu noodles so we bought some.  We decided to make tofu-noodles soup.

It was pretty easy to make...

5 cups chicken stock
6 pieces siomai
2 cups fresh tofu noodles
salt and pepper, to taste
handful of Baguio pechay leaves

Boil the chicken stock.  Add the siomai (or substitute a mix of meat, squid, or fish balls) and when they float, add the noodles.  Season to taste.  Bring to a boil again and add the pechay leaves.  Serve hot!

Diced Tofu, Shitake and Pork

This is another childhood favorite, although I remember it as having "vege-meat" (wheat gluten) cubes as well.  My siblings and I (literally) fought over this dish! 

The best way to serve it?  Piping hot over a bowl of rice!  Oh, topped with spring onions!

To make it:

1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
400 grams lean ground pork (or any ground meat)
about 10 to 12 pieces dried shitake, rehydrated then diced
1 to 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 piece firm tofu, cubed
1 to 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
dark soy sauce, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the garlic and onions.  Add the ground pork.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper; stir fry a couple of minutes.  Add the mushrooms.  Splash soy sauce, stir until the mushrooms are partly cooked.  Throw in the tofu.  Add oyster sauce.  The mixture should give up some liquid, if not, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup stock or water.  Season to taste.  Simmer until everything is cooked.  If desired, thicken the dish with some cornstarch slurry.  Adjust seasonings, according ot personal taste.

Century Eggs over Tofu

This is a dish that hubby likes very very much.  The best part is that it's foolproof... the secret is simply the quality of ingredients... all 3 of them!

This dish begins with a good quality silken tofu, which is steamed then cooled.  Then 2 to 3 pieces of good quality century eggs are sliced and placed on top of the tofu.  Lastly, a good quality thick soya sauce is poured over the whole dish.  Viola!
 
Century eggs are basically preserved eggs.  Supposedly, centuries ago in China, someone discovered some eggs buried in a lime pool and decided to eat them.  He liked it so much that he set about making more... and the century egg was born.  Suffice to say, they have existed in China and Chinese cuisine for several centuries already.

When I was a child, my mother told me that it was an egg that was buried in soil, straw and horse manure for at least A HUNDRED YEARS, hence the name "century" egg.  I now know that it DOES NOT take a hundred years to make, but my mother still insists - this time however, that it took at least a hundred DAYS that the eggs were buried and preserved...

Anyway, the eggs are slimy and quite gross especially for one who did not grow up with it on the dining table; after all it looks greyish, greenish and/or blackish AND it has a different taste and aroma (that I've heard to be described as stinky).  But it really is quite a delicacy with its creamy center (not unlike a soft boiled egg) [although I've eaten a lot with a firm center] and jelly-like "egg white".  When I was asked how it tasted like, my answer was that it tasted like a regular egg but concentrated.  It was actually the texture that I had to get used to but then again I don't like soft boiled eggs either!

But going back to this dish, the 3 ingredients are the basic components.  It can be dressed up a lot of ways... pork floss (or vegetarian floss), spring onions, cooked ground meat, leeks, whatever floats your boat basically!  In one variant, the tofu was topped with 3 kinds of eggs - hard boiled eggs, salted eggs and century eggs!

Yum!!!