Claypot Egg Tofu /Beancurd

Beancurd is the backbone of Chinese vegetarian cooking.In many homes,there is always a beancurd dish on the table.But things are changing when you are staying in Malaysia.Not only its in every chinese homes,it is a dish served in the homes of all communities too.

There are many types of beancurd available in the market.I am using the egg tofu beancurd which is yellow in color.You can also use other type of beancurds.Am also using the chinese claypot to prepare this dish.It enhances the dish further.



Chinese Claypot




Egg Tofu

Step by step in how to take the tofu out from the tube

Cut the tofu in half .Its advisable to use a serrated knife.


Then with both your thumbs push out gently one side of the tofu so it doesn’t break


Do the same with the other half.


Cut gently into small rounds.


Now you have unbroken beautiful tofu pieces


Heat up about 11/2 cup oil to deep fry tofu.You can rub the tofu both surfaces with cornflour if you like before frying .But I prefer to fry it without cornflour.Make sure the oil is hot.If not the tofu will break and you will end up having scramble tofu!!Let the oil heat for 10mins-15mins.Then add in one by one the tofu.Handle slowly when you are transferring the tofu from the cutting surface to the hot oil. Add a few at a time.If you feel the heat is too strong you can lessen the fire.



Deep fry until golden brown.



Preparing the sauce



Ingredients
1 tube tofu or beancurd
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 slice of young ginger(optional)
½ cup of boneless chicken pieces
Sugar and salt to taste
A pinch of pepper
½ tbsp cornflour,mix with 2 tbsp water,for thickening

Sauces
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sweet plum sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine (optional)

Vegetables
½ carrot (shredded)
2-3 baby corns,sliced diagonally
½ chopped cauliflower or broccoli
½ a green capsicum (cut lengthwise )
Garnishing
½ tbsp chopped spring onions

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp of oil with 1 tsp of sesame oil in a claypot.You can also use a wok .Saute the chopped garlic .If using ginger then add ginger too.Once aromatic ,add in chicken meat.Stir a few seconds then combine all the sauces with 1 cup of water in a bowl and pour into the pot.Add the vegetables except the capsicum .Let the sauce simmer and vegetables become tender.Adjust seasoning to taste(salt,sugar and pepper).Finally add in capsicum and the fried beancurd.After about a min ,thicken the sauce with cornflour mixture.
Turn off the heat once mixture comes to a boil.Stir in the spring onions and serve hot with rice.

Note:If you want the dish to be a vegetarian one, you can omit chicken,instead add ginger also to the dish.Before sautéing the garlic and ginger , add in 2 dried red chillies (cut into 3 parts) in the hot oil.For those who like mushroom, you can add that too in your dish.

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