Yong Tau Foo

Last Saturday, I made yong tau foo for dinner. It was the second time in a week I prepared this dish. I ate yong tau foo on Tuesday, but without the tofu/beancurd as I have not gotten the beancurd that I asked my mother-in-law to buy for me. I asked her to buy some beancurd for me during the weekend. Since, I have not gotten it on Monday, I thought she has forgotten about it. So, I just proceed to prepare the yong tau foo with only the beancurd skin and aubergines on Tuesday. I finally got my beancurd on either Wednesday or Thursday (I couldn't remember which day....). So, I prepared the same dish again, but this time using beancurd and bittergourd.

I use Spanish Mackerel and salted Spanish Mackerel to prepare the fish paste. Nowadays, if I make yong tau foo, I will add in some salted fish. I think it taste better with salted fish. However, not everybody like the taste and smell of salted fish. I think it depends on our own preference. I also like to put in much pepper and sesame oil.

I cut each of the beancurds diagonally into two and then made a slit in the middle of the beancurd to form a pocket. Normally I would soak the beancurd in salt water before cutting them but this time around, I don't need to do that step as my mother-in-law has already done it for me. As for the bittergourd, I cut them into rings.

After frying the stuffed beancurds and bittergourds, I fried the fish bones and skin that I retained earlier from the Spanish Mackerel that I used to prepare the fish paste. Then, I used the fried fish bones and skin to prepare the stock for the gravy. After frying the bones and skins, I transferred them to a pot and boiled with about 2 to 3 cups of water. While waiting for the stock to be ready, I cook another dishes; stir-fried bittergourd with pork.

For the yong tau foo's gravy, I use mum's recipe. First, heat oil in the wok and stir-fried the fermented bean sauce. Add in some sugar. Then add in some birds eye chilli. After that, pour in the stocks from the pot. When it start boiling, add in the fried stuffed beancurds and bittergourds. Cook for a while before covering the wok. Add some light soy sauce if you prefer it to be saltier. Let it simmer until the flavour is infused into the stuffed beancurds and the gravy become thicker. Then dish up and serve.

Actually I prefer this recipe to the traditional Hakka yong tau foo's soup using the soy bean as base.