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Worth trying: Tofu, steamed with shrimp

 

My wife and I have had some busy schedules in recent weeks. But the good news is that home-style tofu cooking has returned.

It’s as if our minds are calm.

Yes, her tofu cooking skills remain far superior to my Chinese cooking prowess. I’ve mainly helped in the eating department.

I’ve been pretty successful that I feel I need a promotion. You know, something like: Senior tofu eater.

Her latest brilliant, delicious creation is one that follows the Niang Tofu style – meaning that the flavors appear over a period.

It’s a steamed tofu dish with stuffed shrimp on top in a carved-out area of the tofu slab. The fresh seafood flavor is apparent. The tofu remains moist.

Chinese oyster sauce is drizzled over it at the end to add a nice, light hint of extra flavor.

You can use either the firm or soft style tofu. We opted for the firm style.

In terms of health, we think it’s a great dish to serve: High in protein, no fat and steaming means no oil for frying.

Niang Tofu is popular among the Hakka ethnic group in China. You can find this type of tofu particularly at Cantonese restaurants.

If you’re not a big fan of shrimp, you can use ground chicken, turkey or pork for the stuffing that rests on top of the tofu chunks.

Other options including chopped crab or squid, if you’re hankering for seafood but not shrimp.

Note, too, that after she chopped up the shrimp, she added potato starch, salt, pepper, sugar and cooking wine.

The starch thickens the shrimp mixture up a bit but the other ingredients add flavor.

We used jumbo shrimp from Vietnam that we bought at Costco.

If you already have soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil and other ingredients, we estimate the dish will cost about $5.

For oyster sauce, we used one made by Lee Kum Lee, which has a large factory in Hong Kong but offices in the United States.

By the way, the company has a pretty extensive recipe list and a Twitter feed - and when I looked, Pizza Hut was a follower.

My wife likes the flavor of this oyster sauce, compared to other brands. Lee Kum Lee also has been around since 1888.

The bottle of sauce we have was made in the United States.

The great thing: Since you’re making it at home, you can add more shrimp or whatever filling you use compared to what a chef at a Chinese restaurant might include.

You might have seen this dish at Chinese restaurants, especially ones that serve dim sum. Some places will deep fry it and serve with a sauce.

But nothing, really, beats home cooking.

In my book, this dish is worth it.

I would experiment with it before you serve guests or relatives. But I think it’s certainly tasty enough to make for a special meal.

My wife said that the next time we see my parents, she’d like to make it for them. She knows my mom and dad would enjoy having a taste.

I’ve said this many times, but I’m grateful to my wife for all the delicious food that she thinks of and cooks for our family.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• Firm or soft tofu
• Six jumbo shrimp – or more if using smaller size
• Potato starch (1 tablespoon)
• Salt (1 teaspoon)
• Ground black pepper (1 teaspoon)
• Shaoxing cooking wine (1/2 tablespoon)
• Sugar (1/4 teaspoon)
• Oyster sauce (1 tablespoon)
• Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Flavored Sauce is an option
• Soy sauce (1 teaspoon)
• Sesame oil (just a touch before serving)

 Steps:

• Cut tofu into 2-inch by 1-inch pieces.
• Scoop out half tablespoon from each tofu piece.
• Remove shells from shrimp.
• Chop shrimp.
• Add potato starch, salt, pepper, sugar and cooking wine.
• Stir.
• Place the shrimp mix inside cut-out tofu pieces.
• Place plate with tofu inside pot, pan or wok.
• Add about 2 cups of water.
• Before steaming, add soy sauce to plate to flavor tofu.
• Steam for about 15 minutes.
• Make sure the shrimp is pink before you eat.
• In a different pot, add oyster sauce and half cup of water.
• Add about 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch to thicken.
• After 15 minutes, drizzle the sauce over the tofu.
• Add sesame oil, if you like.
• Top with cilantro.
• Serve hot.
• Savor the flavor.