TOFU AND SHRIMP WITH TOMATO SAUCE (TAHU UDANG SAUS TOMAT)

Easy. Simple. Delicious. Those 3 words are really described this dish. If you lack of idea or want to use the ingredients left in your fridge *obviously I am talking about my own experience :)* this simple dish is really an answer for you! :). Especially on summer. The tangy of fresh tomatoes and the sourness plus the sweetness of the shrimps are really freshen your day!

Then, since this is my new experiment, of course I need someone to test it and tell me how is it. As usual, my hubby becomes my food tester :). And.....he likes it! *phewww*



Tofu and Shrimp with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shrimps, peel and devein
1 package firm tofu (you can use any kind of tofu as long as it is firm tofu)
2-1/2 cups water and salt solutions (2-1/2 cups water combined with 1/2 tsp salt)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsps cooking rice wine
2 tbsp ang ciu/shaoxing
3 tbsps thai sweet and sour sauce
150 ml water
1 stalk spring onion, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsps tapioca starch solutions

Preparations:
Cut the tofu into the shapes you like. Soak the tofu in the water-salt solutions for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the tofu and pat dry the tofu with paper towel. Fry the tofu in the preheated oil until both sides are golden-brown color. Strain it and let the oil dripped.
In another pan, fry the garlic with 2 tablespoons oil until fragrant. Stir in shrimp until the shrimp change into pink color (remember stir fry it until pink color only, do not fry the shrimp too long if you don't want your shrimp becomes rubbery). Add in tomatoes, stir fry for about 1 minute. Add in soy sauce, cooking rice wine, shaoxing, thai sweet and sour sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. Stir for another 1 minute. Add in water, stir well. Add in fried tofu, stir well and let the sauce boiled. Once the sauce is boiled, pour in tapioca starch solution, stir fast until you see the sauce is a bit thicken (you can add more starch solution if you want thicker sauce). Remove it from the stove. Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle it with spring onion. Bon appetite! :)

TOFU NUGGET

It was really simple and easy to make, also, it is good for your snack-of-the-day :). My hubby liked it so much. At his first bite, he asked me what is that, then when I told him that is tofu, he is surprised, cos it didn't taste like tofu at all. And, his further comment is, "Oh man, it is so good!".

So, come on girls, lets make this for your home :)

Tofu Nugget

Ingredients:

100 gr chinese tofu

1 piece of bread, soak it in the water and squeeze it.

3 tbsps of ground beef

50 gr of spinach, boil, drain and chop it.

50 gr of carrot, diced

25 gr of grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp of ground garlic

1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of ground cumin

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of ground blackpepper

Vegetable oil

For coating:

3 tbsps of plain flour

1 egg

75 gr of panko bread flour

Directions:

Wipe the tofu with paper towel, and mashed it with fork in a big bowl. Mix it with mashed bread, ground beef, spinach, carrot, egg, garlic, nutmeg, coriander, cumin, salt, sugar, pepper and cheese. Mix it well.

Grease an 8-inch square pan with oil, cover it with parchment paper (give 15 cm extras paper on the length). Arrange the tofu mixture into the pan, and steam it for 20 minutes. Set aside, let it cool before you cut it.

Cut the tofu into triangle form (or any other shape). Coat it with plain flour, then egg and the last, coat it with panko bread flour. Repeat it until all tofus are coated with panko bread flour.

Deep fry the tofu until golden brown. Serve it with chilli sauce. Enjoy!

MUN TOFU

Hiyaaaaaaaa.........this is our family fave dish, when I was a kid my mom loved to cook mun tofu (we called it mun tahu). Then, since my dad passed away and my older brother and sister were married and moved out to their own house, we are very rare cooking this dish. Yup that's true, its been long long long time I never eat mun tofu.

So, when I got married, for some reason, I'm kinda miss this dish, and I tried to cook it (and crossed my fingers and hoping my hubby likes it). And guess what?? He loved it!! So, this became another fave dish in our little family :).

When the first time I cooked it, I only depend on my memory of mom's mun tofu and add some other spices, and......wallaaaaa.....here it is the deliciouse mun tofu from my lil kitchen :)

Mun Tofu

Ingredients:

1 pack of silken tofu, cubed

300 gr tenderloin beef, sliced (other kind of beef is ok)

2 stalks of spring onion, cut into 1 cm length size

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp shizhuan sauce (optional)

1-1/2 tbsp black bean (I used a ready-stock black bean in the bottle)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp pepper

Water

Vegetable oil

For Marinade:

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1-1/2 tbsp tapioca starch

Methods:

1. Marinate sliced beef with light soy sauce and tapioca starch, make sure all meats are coated by tapioca starch. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

2. Heat oil on a skillet with high heat. Stir fry garlic until fragrant. Add in black bean, mashed it with spoon (half mashed). Stir in marinated beef, stir well and meat no longer pink in color. Add in tofu, stir thoroughly.

3. Then, add in soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, shizhuan sauce (if desire), pepper and water, stir them until the water half thick, then stir in spring onion, stir well until the water completely thicken and boils. Ready to serve.

PHI PHA TOFU

I often cook this food, besides it is easy to make, also it tasted good. I got the recipe from Esther. Actually, that day I am looking for Hainan Rice recipe, but then I found Phi Pha Tofu recipe. Based on her, this food is from a Chinese restaurant at San Francisco. From the name, its unusual name, that's why it made me wondering how's the taste....then at last I am kinda addicted with this food :). Normally, I ate it with gravy, but without gravy its still tasted good. I recommend this food to you to try ;).

Phi Pha Tofu

Ingredients:
Fried Tofu:

1 pack of silken tofu

400 gr fish paste

150 gr peeled shrimp - cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon of oyster sauce

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

2 pieces of eggs

100 gr of tapioca starch

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Gravy:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 pack of enoki mushroom (I substituted it to shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoot)

2 cups of chicken broth/water

2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Mix of 1/4 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch

Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients together until well blended, then deep fry to a size of an egg until it turns golden. You can eat it like this without the enoki gravy.
2. For the gravy, heat up a pan, put in the vegetable oil, stir fry the minced garlic until golden. Then put in the enoki mushroom (or shitake mushroom and bamboo shoot), chicken broth/water, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Wait until boils, then add in the mix of water and tapioca starch to get the gravy thicken. Stir until all ingredients blend well and the gravy boils. Then pour on top of the arranged Phi Pha Tofu. Ready to serve.