Wok Messed Tofu 涡塌豆腐- Pressed Tofu #1

涡塌豆腐Wo Tart Dau Foo
The “tart” here is the same as in “一塌糊涂 Yat Tart Woo Tou” which means “in a complete mess”, “In utter disorder”.

So how come this tofu is given this name?
It doesn’t look messed up, does it?

Actually, the tofu is slightly messed up.

One day you decided to take a stroll, and walked out of the house with perfectly coifed hair and a crisply ironed shirt.

Then came the rain, caught you without warning and drenched you from top to toe.
Oh no! You’ll be in such a mess. Totally "Drop Soup Chicken 落汤鸡"
(lok tong gai, it’s a Cantonese saying to describe being rain drenched, nothing to do with a real chicken)

That’s what happened to this tofu.

Firstly it was fried, given a crispy firm crust. Then it was doused with stock to cook….
What happened to the crust? What say you then?
Is the tofu messed up? LOL.

Wok Messed Tofu 涡塌豆腐

Source: Wei Chuan Cookbook
Cuisine type : Peking

6 cubes of pressed tofu (2X2X1inches)
¾ cup all purpose flour (approximately)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp spring onion (white parts, thinly slices)
1 Tbsp very finely minced ginger
1 Tbsp spring onion (green parts, sliced for sprinkling)
20ml ShaoXing wine (1 Chinese soup spoon)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chicken stock powder
½ cup water
½ Tbsp sesame oil

1. Slice each tofu into 4 pcs (2X1X ½ inches).
2. Coat each piece with flour. Whisk the eggs.
3. Combine water with chicken stock powder, salt and sesame oil. Taste it, it should be oversalted but not toooooo salty.
4. Heat a pan and put in about ¼ cup of oil (give it about 2mm of oil all around in pan)
5. Dip flour coated tofu pieces in egg, one by one and pan fry until golden on both sides. (I fried them in 2 batches, so I floured the 2nd batch after I did the first batch). Poke the fried tofu with a fork (lengthwise).
6. Dish up and drain. Leave 1 Tbsp of oil in pan.(or do the next step in a wok)
7. Use high heat. Put in chopped ginger and cook until fragrant.
8. Put in white part of spring onions and sauté until fragrant.
9. Return the fried tofu to wok. Gently toss the tofu around for a while.
10. Put in shaoxing wine, and it will sizzle greatly. And you can smell the wine.
11. Then pour in the stock and let it come back to a boil.
12. Continue to cook on low heat(flipping once halway) until all the stock is absorbed.
13. Dish up, and sprinkle with green spring oinions.

Verdict:
Take note that this recipe makes quite a big plate of tofu. You can count the pieces and plan for yourself how much can your family consume and then proceed to cook. Simple looking but bursting with flavour. It could catch your guests with surprise to see how a bland looking dish could be flavourful. This dish can be prepared in advance and reheated in the microwave or by steaming, if you’re expecting guests.

Shown 20/24pcs that I had because the plate can't fit all 24.