Before Steaming: After Steaming:
We love tofu as they are soft and silky. Normally we would steam it, flavour it with some light soy sauce and sprinkle some fried shallots on it. At other times, we would steam it with marinated minced meat on top. We have also deep fried tofu and ate it with chili and tomato sauce. Most of the time, we add tofu into stir-fried mixed vegetable dishes or into soups. We have also braised fish with deep-fried tofu.
Another way of using tofu is to make it into a savoury snack for afternoon tea, to be eaten with chili or tomato sauce. It is easy to make with ingredients easily available in our refrigerator or larder.
Ingredients:
- 2 polka dotted ikan tenggiri about 1 1/2 ft long
- 2 pieces of soft tofu measuring 3 inches by 3 inches
- 2 eggs, Grade A
- 1 small carrot about 5 inches long
- 3 stalks of spring onions
- 3 pieces of dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked (Optional)
- 3 tbsp corn flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Batter:
- 5 tbsp rice flour
- 2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water to mix the ingredients into a desired consistency (not too thick nor too runny) for coating the tofu for frying.
Method:
- Fillet the fish.
- Scrap the flesh from the skin.
- Lightly chop up the fish meat to form a paste. Set aside.
- Mash up the tofu and put it into a mixing bowl.
- Add the fish paste into the bowl and mix up it up with the tofu.
- Break the eggs into the bowl and mix them up with the tofu and fish paste.
- Chop up the carrot and put it into the mixing bowl.
- Chop up the spring onions and put them into the mixing bowl.
- Chop up the Shiitake mushrooms and put them into the mixing bowl.
- Add the corn flour into the mixing bowl.
- Mix up all the ingredients until they are well-combined. (May add more corn flour if the tofu-fish batter is too soft.)
- Grease and line a 7 inch x 7 inch pan.
- Prepare a steamer with water. Boil the water.
- Pour the ingredients into the pan.
- Put the pan into the steamer when the water has boiled and steam the batter for about 20 minutes until it is cooked.
- Once cooked, remove the pan from the steamer.
- Let the tofu cool down completely.
- Cover the pan with cling wrap and place the pan in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator.
- Remove the tofu from the pan and remove the parchment paper from the tofu.
- Cut the tofu into desired shapes and sizes.
- Prepare the batter.
- Heat up a non-stick pan with some oil.
- Coat the tofu with batter and fry them till golden brown.
- Serve them with chili or tomato sauce.