Homemade Yong Tau Fu

Yong Tau Fu has been one of my favourite eats but mum rarely made it as it was fairly time consuming (or so I thought then). We used to frequent the original Ampang Yong Tau Fu which used a combination of fish and pork minced. Since the opening of a branch near where we live, we hardly stepped foot into the original shop and as the other chain of shops only uses fish paste, they were deemed halal and we could bring our Muslim family and friends.

Yong Tau Fu is essentially a Malaysian dish in which bean curd is stuffed with fish or pork paste (finely minced) and is served in a clear broth. Many variety and combination has evolved since and now sides from using bean curd or tofu, vegetables like brinjals, chillies, ladies fingers and bittergourds are used to make yong tau foo. Some requires to be deep fried before serving with the broth.
It is then eaten with a dip of chilli sauce and a sweetened black soy bean sauce. For those who are carbohydrate dependent, you can eat them with a bowl of rice or noodles of your choice.

The following is my version of homemade yong tau fu. The recipe is simple to follow and it takes a slightly creative mind to recreate the stuffed vegetables. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 and half lb white fish fillet (Spanish Mackerel, Tilapia etc). Using spoon, remove flesh from skin

• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp light soya sauce

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1 egg white

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tsp salt mixed with 4 tbsp water

Method:

1. Pulse fish fillet in food processor until finely chopped (If one does not have a food processor, pls dont hesitate to use a cleaver and do the manual chopping/mincing yourself)
2. Add in the seasonings of white pepper, sesame oil, soya sauce, sugar and egg white. Mix to combine.
3. Add in cornstarch, salt water and return to food processor. Switch to highest speed to create a paste like consistency. The result is a fish paste that is ready to be used as 'stuffing'


4. Prepare any tofu (brown 'tau pok', firm square tofu etc) or vegetables (bell peppers halved and seeds and veins removed, etc) of your choice. Use your creativity to create a pocket in each of the tofu/vege.
5. Fill the 'pockets' with the fish paste usually about 1 and half tsp full depending on the cuts and size of the tofu/vege.
6. Finally pan fry or deep fry the yong tau fu till light brown.

* lb=pound
tsp=teaspoon
Uncooked yong tau fu can be stored in the freezer except for stuffed tofu