Home Cooking Recipe Series: Niang Tofu

This is the final recipe in the series.

Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people who are primarily found in the southeastern parts of China, namely Guangdong & Fujian. Hakka cuisine relies heavily on dried and preserved ingredients due to the scarcity of fresh ingredients in the sparsely populated hill country that the Hakka people settled in.

A popular Hakka dish is the Niang tofu, (or "Yong tau foo", as it is known in Singapore and Malaysia). Niang tofu is tofu cubes heaped or stuffed with a paste made of minced meat and herbs, then fried till golden brown, braised or steamed. Vegetables like eggplants, okra, and bitter melon are also used in this dish and stuffed with the same meat paste. The stuffed tofu and vegetables are served with hoisin sauce and sometimes chicken or pork soup.

Niang Tofu

This recipe uses the steaming method.
Ingredients
Tofu
6 oz. minced chicken
2 blocks firm tofu
1.8 oz. onion, diced
1.8 oz. potato, diced
1 tsp corn starch
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper

Sauce
3 tsp oyster sauce
3 tsp chicken stock
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp corn starch
1 tsp water

Method
Tofu
Combine salt, pepper, corn starch and water with the minced chicken.
Slice each piece of tofu evenly into 3 pieces (to make a total of 6 pieces.)
Using a tablespoon, make wide, shallow holes in the tofu pieces.
Divide up the seasoned minced chicken evenly and place onto each piece of tofu.
Steam the tofu for about 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.
Place tofu pieces on a plate and set aside.

Sauce

In a small pan, heat the oyster sauce, chicken stock and sugar to a simmer.
Add corn starch and water to the simmering sauce.
Stir until the sauce is evenly blended. Remove pan from the heat, then pour sauce over the tofu.

Serve and enjoy!