Lightly Braised Silken Tofu and Ground Pork (豆腐羮)

This is a simple yet comforting dish that my mom used to make when I was a kid. She likes to add some shirasu but I have omitted that due to environmental reasons. However, without shirasu, the flavors are still good and satisfying, especially with additional help from one other ingredient, keep reading and you'll find out the answer in the end. 

Lightly braised silken tofu and ground pork -

Ingredients?

• 1 box silken tofu
• 0.5 lb ground pork
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock (preferably infused with ginger)
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Some corn starch/water mixture
• Some chopped cilantro
• Some white pepper powder

How?

Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Trim off the scallion stem and chop the remaining stalk. Drain the tofu and roughly cut into big cubes. Finely chop some cilantro leaves and set aside for later use. 

Use Chinese style chicken stock if possible. Otherwise you can warm up the stock and add a couple slices of ginger. Bring to a boil and keep it as a simmer for about 10 minutes to draw out some of that gently spiciness from the ginger. Turn off the heat and keep the stock on the side for later use.

Use a pan or a pot with some depth since we are going to pour some stock over. Drizzle enough olive oil to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.

Turn to medium high heat. Add in ground pork, salt, and pepper. Give it a quick stir till some fat starts to render. Transfer chopped garlic and scallion over. Sear till the meat has been fully cooked through. 

Pour over the stock and bring to a boil. Carefully add the tofu to the mixture and bring to a boil again. Lower the heat a little if needed, this mixture needs to be reduced to concentrate the flavor, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle some white pepper powder. Taste and adjust with salt.

There is no need to nicely cube the silken tofu in the beginning. The tofu will break into smaller pieces during the cooking process from stirring and mixing. Don't worry about getting the perfect shape, cubed or mixed shapes, they all taste just as good.

Prepare some corn starch and water mixture on the side. While the tofu mixture is hot but not boiling, pour in the corn starch water and keep stirring at the same time to prevent lumps. 

Plate the food and garnish with some chopped cilantro leaves.  

I also like to add some cubed shiitake for extra spongy bite. On top of that, shiitake can further bump up the umami level. If using shiitake, remove the stems and cube the caps, stir-fry it after the ground pork is about 50% cooked through. Try it yourself, won't you?


Other tofu recipes: 

• Quick and easy tomato chicken stew
• Eggplant and tomatoes stir-fry with oyster sauce - 蠔油燴雙茄
• Tofu with a kick - seared and seasoned with aged Shaoxing wine
• Japanese cold side dish recipe - shio kombu with medium firm tofu