Crispy Stuffed Tofu with Black Bean Sauce
April 21, 2011 § 3 Comments
There’s never a good time to be allergic to shrimp.
But this was particularly one of those times that I willed myself to suck up my wimpy shrimp allergy and enjoy the amazingness of crispy stuffed tofu that my friend Serena introduced to me. THANKS SERENA!
As the first official guest-visit-post, I was delighted when Serena invited me to come over for some deliciousness that I had only heard about, but had never tasted. These pictures were taken on my phone, so they’re not the greatest quality and doesn’t accurately capture how good these were, but it shows the process of how she made these pretty well!
Crispy Stuffed Tofu Recipe
Adapted from QlinArt
Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking: 30 minutes
Recipe:
6 – 8 medium sized cubes of firm tofu (about 2 1/2 inches wide on each side)
6 – 8 medium sized cubes of firm tofu (about 2 1/2 inches wide on each side)
12 medium sized raw shrimps (shells and tails removed and deveined), coarsely chopped
1/4 cup ground/minced chicken
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fermented black bean paste (found in most Asian supermarkets – I use the one from Lee Kum Kee)
1 tbsp garlic oil (browned garlic soaked in oil)
1/4 cup cornstarch and water mix (2 tsp cornstarch diluted in 1/4 cup water)
1/4 tsp hot chili paste
2 cups of vegetable oil to fry
1 tbsp chopped scallions to garnish
Directions:
To remove water from tofu, place a cutting board on top of the tofu cubes/triangles for about 15 minutes. Weight will squeeze water out. And then pat dry with paper towel. Do this in a sink because a lot of water will come out.
Scoop out about 3 scoops of tofu with spoon from each cube.
Shrimp stuffing:
Mix shrimp, white pepper, salt and sugar well. Mix the shrimp with the ground chicken and cornstarch in a bowl, with your hands, until all well blended.
Stuff the tofu with the shrimp mixture and coat each cube/triangle lightly with cornstarch.
Heat oil in medium sized saucepan on high heat. When the oil is hot, add in 2 cubes/triangles at a time and fry 2 minutes until light golden brown and turn them over to fry the other side for another 2 minutes. Place on paper towel on a large plate. Repeat with remaining cubes/triangles.
Black bean sauce:
Heat a medium sized saucepan on high heat and add in the garlic oil, the black bean paste, chili paste and the cornstarch water mixture. Stir well until you have a thick gravy-like consistency. Add more water if too thick.
Lay the stuffed tofu on a serving dish and ladle the black bean sauce on tofu. Garnish with chopped scallions.
Serve hot while crispy with steamed jasmine rice.
my golden hour 
NOM…looks delicious
Thanks Andy! It totally was….we are lucky have a talented chef like Serena in our lives. 🙂
[…] even restaurants in Chinatown for the past couple years. I’ve been so lucky, with my friend Serena teaching me her crispy pork-and-shrimp-filled tofu, and today, I can’t wait to share this very special dish from my one and only […]