5 Minutes Tofu Dish

Tofu is always one of the best and versatile ingredient found in the kitchen pantry. Since Tofu has very little flavor or smell on its own, you can use it to create all kinds of sweet and savory dishes range from starter, soup, main course and dessert or even in cake and pastry. Today we are going to prepare a less than 5 minutes dish using Tofu and Pork Mince with Bean Paste (肉酱) as the main ingredients.

This is a very simple and yet presentable dish that doesn’t even require any cooking time but perhaps just a few seconds to a minute of re-heating in the microwave before serving. As you know Tofu is rather tasteless so by adding Pork Mince with Bean Paste (肉酱) to it, it actually acts as a seasoning to this dish too. In order to make this dish look and taste even better, I also add in some shimeji mushroom and "century egg - 皮蛋" in it.

Ingredients:
1 Box of Silken Tofu
3 Tablespoon of Pork Mince Paste(肉酱)
1 Century Egg(皮蛋), cut into small cubes
1 Packet of Shimeji Mushroom, optional

Garnish:
Some Spring Onion
Some Chilli

Method:
1. Remove the tofu from the packaging and place it on a big serving plate and try to pad dry both side with some kitchen paper towel.
2. Cut/plug the individual stalk off from the bunch of shimeji mushroom, and give it a quick 30 second stir in a lightly oil saucepan.
3. Removed and arrange on the side of the tofu.
4. Spread the pork mince paste on top of the tofu and scatter the century eggs all over it.
5. Before serving, reheat the tofu in microwave for 30 second to a minute high depending on the voltage of your microwave.
6. To serve, top with some chopped spring onion and chiili as garnish.


So you see, this is a very quick and easy dish that can be served in about 5 minutes time. And if you don't prefer to do any extra washing after stir-frying the mushroom then perhaps you can replace the mushroom by some shredded lettuce, which can blend well with the bean paste too.

Stir-Fry Doufu With Egg

I saw a similar dish on TV show recently while they fry egg with doufu. So I decided to give it a try with whatever ingredients I can find in my fridge.


Other than the Main Ingredients like Doufu and Eggs, I added in shredded carrot, chopped spring onion and pork minced. Guess I am too greedy with the doufu as I used up the whole box with only two egg so it doesn't bind everything together like a omelet. But overall I still like this Doufu with Egg dish as it's light and simple with all the nutrition in it..... :)
Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 Box Of Silken Doufu
2 - 3 Eggs, beaten
100g Pork Mince
1 Small Carrot, shredded
1 Sprig Of Spring Onion, finely chopped

Methods:
1. Marinate the pork mince with some pepper, sesame oil and light soya sauce for about 5 - 10 minutes.
2. Cut the doufu into small or large cubes depend on your preference. (i cut mine into small cubes)
3. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil in a preheat pan, stir-fry the pork mince till almost done then add in the shredded carrot and spring onion.
4. Fry till fragrant then add in the doufu and stir till combine.
5. Slowly pour in the beaten egg and swirl around the pan to form an omelet.
6. Fry till egg and meat is cooked thru, dish up and serve.

Notes:
a) You can used those egg doufu in tube form instead of the box.
b) The number of eggs used depend on the amount of doufu used.

Prawn & Pork Mince Doufu

I love to eat this type of Pan-fry Doufu dish that is usually available in the coffee shop economical rice stall(Chup Chye Peng), it usually goes well with white rice because of it gravy.

You can purchase this doufu in the wet market from those selling bean sprout and bean curd stall. It cost about 60 cents for a piece which can transform into a wonderful and nutrition dish for the family.



Ingredients:
1 Piece Of Pan-fry Doufu
50g Of Frozen Mixed Vegetables
50g Minced Pork
6-8 Medium Prawns, shelled & devein
1 Stalk Of Spring Onion, chopped
1/2 Brown Onion, cut into wedges
1 Small Tomato, cut into cubes
1/2 Tablespoon Of Mince Garlic
2 Tablespoons Of Oil
Seasoning Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Abalone Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
Some Pepper
3/4 Teaspoon Potato Starch
120ml Water

Methods:
1. Wash and cut the doufu into big cubes and pat dry on kitchen paper towel and set aside.
2. Preheat the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil and pan-fry the doufu until golden brown on all sides, removed.
3. Next add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the onion wedges and minced garlic until fragrant then add in the mince meat and prawns.
4. When the meat is almost done, add in the mixed vegetables and diced tomato.
5. Stir till well combined then add in the fried doufu and seasoning sauce.
6. Bring it to boil and simmer for 1 minutes, remove from heat and stir through the spring onion.
7. Dish up and garnish with extra chopped spring onion and chilli. Serve with rice.

Notes:
a) If you don't like to used minced pork, you can replace it with diced roast pork.
b) You need to buy the doufu that is suitable for pan-fry not those used in soup.

Thai-style Deep-fry Doufu

I had eaten this "Thai-style Deep-fry Doufu" twice from the Sembawang SAF Yacht Club restaurant. I love the crispness of the fried doufu with the sweet and spicy Thai sauce. It's really amazing how this simple doufu dish can be so appetizing.

Doufu(豆腐) or bean curd is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. The making of doufu from soy milk is similar to the technique of making cheese from milk.


For soft silken doufu (嫩豆腐) or soy beancurd(豆花) the soy milk is curdled directly in the doufu's selling package. For standard firm Asian doufu, the soy curd is cut and strained of excess liquid using cheese cloth or muslin and then lightly pressed to produce a soft cake. Firmer doufu, such as Asian dry doufu(荳乾) are further pressed to remove even more liquid. The doufu curds are allowed to cool and become firm

Doufu is low in calories, contains beneficial amounts of iron (especially important for women of child bearing age) and has no cholesterol (a risk factor for heart disease). Depending on the coagulant used in manufacturing, the doufu may also be high in calcium (important for bone development and maintenance) and magnesium (especially important for athletes).

Ingredients:
1 Packet of Pressed Doufu,板豆腐
3-4 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Beaten Egg

Methods:
1. Soaked the whole box of doufu in water for about 1-2 hours(this is to harden to doufu for deep-frying purpose).
2. Remove the doufu from the packing then cut into 12 equal pieces then use kitchen paper towel to dry it well.
3. Next coat the doufu pieces with some cornstarch then dip in beaten egg and coat with cornstarch again.
4. Set it aside for 1-2 minutes before deep-frying it in hot oil for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Drain and set aside.

Ingredients For Salad Base:
1 Japanese cucumber
1 Medium Carrot
1 Red Apple/Mango
1 Medium Tomato, cut into wedges
Rind Of 1 Lemon

Methods:
1. Wash all the above, shred them finely, mix well and place in a mixing bowl.
2. Set aside in the fridge while you prepare the doufu.

Sweet & Spicy Sauce:
2 Tablespoon Thai-style Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 Small Red Chilli, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Drinking Water
2 Tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Cloves Of Garlic, finely grated
Juice Of Half Lemon
1/2 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Coriander

Methods:
1. Mix all the above ingredients together in a small bowl and stir till well combined.
2. Set aside for later use.(you can prepare it ahead and place in the fridge)

Assemble The Dish:
1. Remove the salad from the fridge, place it as a base on the serving plate.
2. Arrange the tomato wedges around the plate, drizzle 1/4 of the sweet & spicy sauce on the salad.
3. Place the fried doufu on top of the salad base, then drizzle the rest of the sauce evenly on the doufu and serve hot.

Notes:
You can use any vegetables for the salad base as you prefer.

If you don't like the garlic smell, you can omit it from the sauce. And if you prefer a hotter sauce, you can add more chopped chillies.

Steam Pork Mince With Salted Fish

I am always keen in learning how to make tasty steamed minced meat with salted fish which are similar to those selling in the steamed food stall. So after consulting some experts from cooking forum that makes this dish, I finally managed to prepare something similar to what I expected. Actually this is an easy dish to prepare but you need some skill in making the minced meat seasoning and get food quality of salted fish to enhance the taste.