Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Pictorial: Fried Stuffed Puff Tofu (Fish Cake)


hzrt8w

Recommended Posts

Fried Fish Cake with Puff Tofu (煎酿豆腐浦)

Fish cakes (fish paste) are made by grinding fish meat. They are sold in most Asian grocery markets. Puff tofus are deep-fried tofu with many air bubble trapped inside. They are very light and puffy.

gallery_19795_1829_21479.jpg

Here are the main ingredients. To enhance the taste of fish cakes (top center, about 1 lb), I used some dried shrimp (middle right) - presoaked in water for about 30 minutes, dried black mushroom (middle left) - presoaked in water for a couple of hours, and some cilantro (not shown). At the bottom center are some puff tofus. Use 1 to 1 1/2 bag (each bag contains about 12 puff tofus).

gallery_19795_1829_24869.jpg

Dice the black mushrooms into small pieces. Drain the dried shrimps after soaking. Finely chop some cilantro.

gallery_19795_1829_19284.jpg

Use a mixing bowl. Add the fish paste. Add the dice black mushrooms, dried shrimp and chopped cilantro. To enhance the flavor, I added about 2 tsp of sesame oil, and 1 tsp of ground white pepper.

gallery_19795_1829_2879.jpg

Mix all the ingredients and seasoning.

gallery_19795_1829_12158.jpg

Cut each puff tofu into two halves.

gallery_19795_1829_2828.jpg

Use your thumb to depress a cavity in the center of the puff tofu. Use a spoon to stuff the fish paste mixture onto the puff tofu.

gallery_19795_1829_25233.jpg

Continue to stuff the puff tofu until fish paste is all used.

gallery_19795_1829_15636.jpg

Heat up a pan/wok over medium fire. Add some cooking oil. Fry the stuffed puff tofo (with the stuffing side down) until the fish paste has turned brown. Check by flipping over each puff tofu. Remove when done.

gallery_19795_1829_621.jpg

Lay the cooked stuffed puff tofu on the serving plate, with stuffing side up.

gallery_19795_1829_20025.jpg

The sauce is very simple. Here are the ingredients: garlic (mince it), salt (not shown), white vinegar, oyester sauce, chicken broth, dark soy sauce, sugar (not shown) and corn starch (not shown).

gallery_19795_1829_15259.jpg

Use the same pan/wok, add 1 tblsp of cooking oil. Add minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 20 seconds. Dash in 1 tsp of white vinegar. Add 1 to 2 cups of chicken broth. Add 2 tblsp of oyster sauce. Add 1 tblsp of dark soy sauce. Add 2 tsp of sugar. Bring to a boil. Use 3 tsp of corn starch, dissolve in water, gradually add to the pan. Keep stirring. Add enough corn starch slurry until the sauce has thicken to the right consistency.

gallery_19795_1829_15253.jpg

Pour the sauce on top of the stuffed tofu. Finished. 1 lb of fish paste yields about 30 to 40 stuffed puff tofu.

Variations

You may use the same basic technique to stuff other ingredients. Examples are: red/green bell peppers, anaheim peppers, egg plants, firm tofu, geet gwa, etc..

Edited by hzrt8w (log)
W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks as if you can get fish paste more easily than us. Either my mom makes it for me or I buy mine from my organic produce supplier, preservative-free; they make it fresh every morning. I've only made it once or twice from scratch due to the fact that we can't make it to the market early enough to get very fresh fish....or rather DH (he does the marketing). Best to go before 7 am.

BTW, I cut my tofu diagonally...greater surface area to pack in more filling. :rolleyes:

How long does it take you guys to polish off 30-40 yeong dau foos? :biggrin: Tks for the demo.

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never made these with fish paste, but do make them with a mixture of ground pork, chopped shrimp, minced ginger and cilantro.

Sometimes, I omit the sauce and we just dip the triangles in hot sauce.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How long does it take you guys to polish off 30-40 yeong dau foos?  :biggrin: Tks for the demo.

To "polish off"? Like shine it with some sesame oil? :laugh::laugh:

We devoured 41.32% of the dish last night for dinner. We had another 39.16% of the dish as lunch today between my wife and me. That leaves 19.52% still in the fridge for any-time snacks... :laugh::laugh:

Has anybody tried to stuff fish paste on firm tofu? I have not been successful cooking it. The fish paste always separates from the tofu (because the tofu edges are so smooth). What is the trick that would make the fish paste stick to the tofu surface?

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for this demo, hzrt8w. This dish was not even on my radar screen until this thread--although it does remind me of Thai shrimp toast type dishes. It sounds like it would be incredibly savory and tasty; I must try it sometime.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How long does it take you guys to polish off 30-40 yeong dau foos?  :biggrin: Tks for the demo.

Has anybody tried to stuff fish paste on firm tofu? I have not been successful cooking it. The fish paste always separates from the tofu (because the tofu edges are so smooth). What is the trick that would make the fish paste stick to the tofu surface?

Try dustin g the inside of the tofu with cornstarch. That's a suggestion from some book about stuffing mushrooms.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another wonderful recipe!!

and all of the ingredients are popular ingredients in Japan as well. I have often seen a similar dish with ground pork like Dejah mentioned, but I really like the idea of fish paste.

I was served a somewhat similar dish at a friend's house last week, ground chicken was seasoned in a similar way, then soft tofu was cut into blocks with the center shallowly (is tis a word? :hmmm: ) cut out. The chicken mixture was then formed into a somewhat ball like shape and placed into the depression. Finally they were placed into small cups (like tea cups) and steamed. For serving they were drizzled with a Japanese ponzu (citrusy-soy sauce). These were really good and probaly could be made with any mixture .

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...... The chicken mixture  was then formed into a somewhat ball like shape and placed into the depression. Finally they were placed into small cups (like tea cups) and steamed. For serving they were drizzled with a Japanese ponzu (citrusy-soy sauce). These were really good and probaly could be made with any mixture .

Fish paste can be steamed, definitely. I am planning on making another dish that mixes fish paste and tofu and steamed. I like fish paste that is fried more - the caramelized taste is irresistable. :smile:

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not happy with the quality of fish paste in the store so I stuff eggplant, tofu, and green pepper with a pork mixture.

I have tried stuffing fish paste on fried firm tofu by cutting the square piece of tofu into two triangles. Cut a slit into the tofu and stuff it with the paste, if it is still not sticking then dust the paste with a bit of corn starch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tried stuffing fish paste on fried firm tofu by cutting the square piece of tofu into two triangles. Cut a slit into the tofu and stuff it with the paste, if it is still not sticking then dust the paste with a bit of corn starch.

Yuki: (1) Do you cut the slit along the long edge of the tofu, or across the long edge of the tofu? (2) Do you use corn starch to dust the tofu, or to dust the fish paste?

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tried stuffing fish paste on fried firm tofu by cutting the square piece of tofu into two triangles. Cut a slit into the tofu and stuff it with the paste, if it is still not sticking then dust the paste with a bit of corn starch.

Yuki: (1) Do you cut the slit along the long edge of the tofu, or across the long edge of the tofu? (2) Do you use corn starch to dust the tofu, or to dust the fish paste?

Myself, I dust the inside of the tofu or gua. This acts as "contact glue" between the filling and the cavity. I think if you dust the filling, it would meld into the filling quickly, thus changing the texture rather than acting as glue. Besides, kind of tedious to dust each spoonful before placing it into the tofu?

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tried stuffing fish paste on fried firm tofu by cutting the square piece of tofu into two triangles. Cut a slit into the tofu and stuff it with the paste, if it is still not sticking then dust the paste with a bit of corn starch.

Yuki: (1) Do you cut the slit along the long edge of the tofu, or across the long edge of the tofu? (2) Do you use corn starch to dust the tofu, or to dust the fish paste?

I cut the slit along the surface of the hypotenuse(the longest side of the triangle). I usually have no trouble sticking the paste into the tofu, but corn starch on the tofu would help it stick better. Other than just stuffing the paste into the tofu, try spreading some on the surface of the hypotenuse(this is because you can't stuff much into the hard tofu, so if you want more paste, then you have to spread some on the tofu).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...