You know what? I haven’t cook tofu for quite a long while. I tried not to consume too many soy products due to them being estrogen dominant. Hence, a very long pause. Recently, I started cooking with soy again but only on occasion. Since I bought an organic and non-GMO smooth tofu during my latest grocery run, the occasion to eat it is now!
This smooth tofu with meat floss and century egg recipe is very simple. It’s a no-heat side dish, meaning you don’t have to heat it up except for making fried shallots and fried shallot oil. Once you have the ingredients ready, putting it together is a breeze. This is a wonderful recipe for those who are always busy or out of idea on what to cook.
Smooth tofu with meat floss & century egg is pleasing to the eyes and packs a salty, savory and smooth taste and texture.
Let’s cook!
Ingredients (clockwise from top): organic smooth tofu, meat floss (I used pork floss), shallots and century egg. They are all my favorite ingredients!
Slice 2-3 shallots and fry in cooking oil to make fried shallots and shallots oil (the leftover oil). Use healthy fats such as lard or coconut oil. The proportion of oil is about 3x-4x the total amount of shallots. When you fry the shallots, a portion of the oil will be absorbed by the shallot, hence use 3x or even 4x the oil. If you have extra after that, you can use it for other dishes. Once the fried shallots are golden brown, put them in a bowl together with the fried shallot oil and set aside.
While frying the shallots, you can…
Clean the century egg. If you’re unsure how to clean it, you can refer to how to clean salted duck egg post. The method is the same. The only difference is the century egg is covered with mud and rice husks while salted duck egg is covered with charcoal. These are their curing mediums.
After cleaning the century egg, carefully crack and remove the shell, rinse the century egg and chop it coarsely. I chopped it into larger chunks.
Remove the smooth tofu from the box packaging and carefully put it on the serving dish. The smooth tofu is very fragile. If there’s tofu brine, drain it. The organic smooth tofu that I used is coagulated using nigari.
To assemble, first drizzle the smooth tofu with soy sauce and fried shallot oil. Next, add chopped century egg onto the tofu and follow by meat floss and fried shallots last. You may find the pilling of the meat floss on the tofu to be quite high. You can use half or 3/4 of it first. Then, add the rest of the meat floss as you chomp the dish. Believe me, the meat floss quantity is just right. Do not reduce it.
Since soy sauce is salty, it’s best eaten with warm rice to balance it out. You may also try it with blanched noodles. I have some leftovers and eat them the next day and it’s still delicious.
Give it a try!
Soft Tofu With Meat Floss & Century Egg
Adapted from Beancurd Flavor
Serves 2
1 box smooth tofu (organic is the best)
1 century duck egg, deshelled, rinsed and chopped coarsely
30g meat floss (I used pork floss)
1-2 tablespoons fried shallots; made from ~2-3 shallots (sliced)
Cooking oil; preferable lard or coconut oil [use 3x-4x the total amount of shallots (eyeball it)]
Seasoning
2 tablespoons naturally fermented soy sauce
2 tablespoons fried shallot oil (use lard or coconut oil for frying)
Method:
1. Slice shallots thinly and fry on a pool of lard or coconut oil until golden brown. Use 3x-4x oil to shallot ratio. Place the fried shallots and fried shallots oil in a bowl and set aside.
2. Remove tofu from the box packaging and place it on a serving plate. Drain the tofu brine if any.
3. Top the soft tofu with naturally fermented soy sauce and fried shallot oil.
4. Then, add the coarsely chopped century egg, follow by meat floss and lastly fried shallots. Serve with warm rice.
Enjoy!
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