Stuffed Tofu, Hakka Style (客家酿豆腐)
Pan-fried tofu blocks stuffed with a pork and shrimp filling, and served with an umami-rich sauce, Hakka style stuffed tofu is delightful to eat.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 3 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 80 g minced pork (about 3 oz)
- 80 g minced shrimp (about 3 oz(see note 1 ))
- 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and minced (keep the soaking water for making the sauce)
- ¼ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch sugar
- 600 g firm tofu (about 1.3 lbs (see note 2))
- 3 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch ground white pepper
- 1 pinch sugar
- Scallions, finely chopped (for garnishing)
Instructions
- 1
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the filling until they become a well-combined, sticky mass (remember to save the water in which the mushrooms are soaked for later use).
- 2
Take the tofu out of the container. Pat dry the surface with kitchen paper. Then slice it into square or rectangle blocks. Make sure they are thick enough to hold some filling (For your reference, my blocks are about 2½ cm/1 inch thick).
- 3
Use the tip of a knife to cut out a square/rectangle halfway through the tofu. Then scoop out the middle piece with a spoon making room for the filling.
- 4
Stuff each block of hollowed out tofu with the filling. It’s ok if it sticks out a little.
- 5
Pour oil into a frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Place in the tofu blocks with the stuffed side facing down. Fry until the top of the filling browns nicely.
- 6
With the help of a spatula or chopsticks, flip and turn the tofu blocks to lightly brown all other sides (It takes 10-15 minutes in total). Then transfer them to a serving plate.
- 7
Discard the remaining oil in the pan leaving just a thin coating. Over low heat, fry garlic until fragrant.
- 8
While waiting for the garlic, mix light soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, white pepper and sugar with 5 tablespoons of the mushroom water saved from step 1.
- 9
Stir the mixture very well then pour into the pan. Turn off the heat and use the remaining heat of the pan to thicken the sauce (stir constantly with a spoon/spatula to avoid lumps).
- 10
When it reaches the desired consistency (just thick enough to coat the spoon), pour over the stuffed tofu. Garnish with scallions and serve with steamed rice.