Yong Tau Foo (Stuffed Tofu and Vegetables)
YongTau Foo (Stuffed Tofu and Vegetables) with homemade salmon fish paste and two different sauces - bean paste and clear soupy sauce.
Keyword : salmon fish paste, stuffed tofu, stuffed vegetables, yong tau foo
Ingredients
- 1 bitter gourd/melon
- 2 small eggplant (or 1 big long Chinese eggplant)
- 6 red chilies
- 2 small green peppers
- 1 large section lotus root
- 1 packet extra firm tofu (1 lb/450g)
- 1 large sheet fuchok (dried tofu skin)
- Sufficient vegetable oil for deep frying
- 2 green onions (divided)
Salmon Fish Paste
- 2 lbs salmon (900g)
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp salt diluted in 2 tbsp water
Bean Paste Sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp fermented soy bean paste (minced)
- ¾ cup water (180ml)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp water
Clear Soupy Sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 cups (480ml) chicken broth
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/8/ tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
Salmon Fish Paste
- Scrape salmon meat off the skin with a spoon.
- Chop fish meat with cleaver to break up the meat. Transfer the fish meat to a large bowl.
- Add half of the salt water and sprinkle ground pepper and corn starch over the chopped salmon meat.
- Stir with a spoon to get everything well mixed.
- Moistened your hands with remaining salt water. Gather up and throw the salmon meat back into the bowl repeatedly until it sticks together and have a nice sheen. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to the refrigerator and let the fish meat paste rest for 15 minutes.
Prepare the Vegetables and Tofu
- While salmon fish paste is resting in the refrigerator, prepare the vegetables.
- Cut bitter gourd/melon at a diagonal into 12 ½ inch thick slices. Using a paring knife, carefully cut away the center with the seeds. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the prepared bitter gourd/melon. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes to draw out the bitter juices. Then, rinse and drain.
- Cut each small eggplant into six ¾ inch thick slices with a slit in the middle. If you are using the long Chinese eggplant, cut the eggplant at a diagonal into twelve ¾ inch thick slices with a slit in the middle.
- Cut a slit in each red chili and carefully remove the seeds inside. Wear a pair of gloves if necessary.
- Cut the green peppers into quarters and carefully cut around each piece to remove the spongy core and seeds.
- Peel the outer skin off the lotus root with a vegetable peeler. Cut into twelve ¼ inch thick slices. Boil the lotus root with ½ teaspoon salt for 3 minutes. Remove, rinse, and drain.
- Remove tofu from packaging and transfer to a shallow bowl. Place several dishes on top of the tofu to press out the excess water. Drain and cut the block of tofu into quarters. Then, cut each quarter diagonal into 2 pieces. Using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out an indentation on the side where the piece of tofu was cut diagonally.
- Cut fuchok (tofu skin) into 12 pieces of 7” x 3½” each. Wipe with a damp cloth to moisten and soften the fuchok.
Stuff the Vegetables and Tofu
- Stuff the middle of the each slice of bitter gourd/melon with the prepared fish paste. Smoothen the front and back with your finger so that the fish paste sticks to the slice of bitter gourd/melon neatly.
- For the eggplant, fill the slit with some fish paste. Press down to sandwich the fish paste and run your finger along the edge to smoothen the fish paste.
- Fill the red chili cavities with fish paste and smoothen the fish paste near the slit with your finger.
- For the green pepper, fill the cavity with fish paste. Then, smoothen the top of the fish paste with your finger.
- Place some fish paste on a slice of prepared lotus root. Then, sandwich with another slice of lotus root.
- Fill the indentation of each piece of prepared tofu with fish paste and smoothen the top.
- Place a little strip of fish paste along the short side of a slice of fuchok (tofu skin). Then, roll neatly into a log.
Fry the Yong Tau Foo
- Heat sufficient oil in a wok or deep fry pan over medium flame. Add a few pieces of prepared Yong Tau Foo and let it fry for 4 to 5 minutes until lightly brown. Flip them over and continue to fry for another 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place in a metal strainer to drain off excess oil.
- Repeat until every piece of yong tau foo is fried.
- Arrange pieces of fried Yong Tau Foo on a large platter.
Bean Paste Sauce
- Heat vegetable oil in a small wok or sauce pan. Add garlic and stir fry for 20 seconds. Add bean paste and continue to stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour in water and let the sauce come to a boil. Add sugar and cornstarch mixture.
- Allow sauce to thicken for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off stove and immediately pour sauce over fried Yong Tau Foo.
- Sprinkle green onions over the top and serve immediately.
Clear Soupy Sauce
- Heat vegetable oil in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and stir fry for 20 seconds. Pour in chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Season with salt, ground pepper, and fish sauce.
- Allow it to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off stove and immediately pour sauce over fried Yong Tau Foo.
- Sprinkle green onions over the top and serve immediately.
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