Egg Dipped Tofu in Savory Tomato Sauce

Think of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, this recipe is like a spin-off of such classic Chinese dish, but with stronger seasonings used. So if you like the original egg and tomato flavor combo, you might find yourself loving this one too.

Egg dipped tofu in savory tomato sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 300 grams regular tofu (something in between silken and firm)
• 4 eggs
• 1 big tomato
• 2 stalks scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Some olive oil

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons drinkable water
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

How?

Drain out the liquid from tofu and slice to medium size cubes. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and chop the scallion. Destem and cube the tomato.

Beat two eggs in a bigger bowl, because we are going to add cubed tofu to the beaten egg. Give it a gentle mix, making sure all the tofu cubes have been coated with the egg.

Premix all the ingredients under the "sauce" section. Before using the sauce, make sure there're no lumps from the corn starch.

Use a non-stick pan and drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Pour in the tofu egg mixture. When need to move the tofu egg around, it'll be better to use a flat spatula and push from the bottom, so that the tofu won't break easily.

Once the egg seemed about 90% cooked through, scoop out and set aside first.

Still using the same pan and drizzle two more tablespoons of olive oil. Also still use medium heat. Add in almost all the chopped scallion, only save a few on the side for garnish in the end.

Also add in all the chopped garlic. Cook till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits. Transfer cubed tomatoes over and cook for couple more minutes. 

Pour the tofu egg mixture back along with the premixed sauce. Push around till evenly blended. Perhaps switch to high heat to help condensing the sauce. A quick 20 seconds should do the trick. Once ready, plate and garnish with some chopped scallion.

The overall flavor is quite similar to the classic scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but you can definitely notice the stronger sauce there. In which I think the heavier dose of seasonings happened to balance-off the lighter tofu. So in the end, you get this flavorful dish that works like wonders when paired with steamed rice.

By the way, if you prefer a more sourish taste, consider adding extra one tablespoon of black vinegar to the sauce mixture.

Other Asian egg recipes:

• Korean soy marinated eggs (about 8 to 12 eggs)
• Stronger tasting nori tamagoyaki with a brush of sesame oil
• Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf

Cured Ham Open-Faced Sandwich for Two

While cured ham might seem like a common ingredient and easily accessible in many western countries, it's not quite the same case in Taiwan.

First of all, cured ham can be expensive. I'm talking about the more authentic version of ham, like the kind you'll find at the butcher shop or Italian deli. Second, these types of cured meat can only be found in a handful of specialty markets or shops in Taipei. That means while making a cured ham sandwich might sound simple, but to actually do it here, it'll definitely cost more compared to just ordering one at the restaurant.

But I still did it myself, just because homemade version tastes pretty darn good, that is if I'm willing to spend that money sourcing ingredients once in a blue moon.

Cured ham open-faced sandwich - 

Ingredients (for two)?

• Some slices cured ham (I used 3 different varieties)
• 2 rustic bread slices (about 0.5 inch thick)
• 1 to 2 big tomatoes
• 1 ball burrata cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons pesto sauce
• Some basil 
• Some aged Parmigiano Reggiano
• Some extra virgin olive oil

How?

Slice the bread to about 0.5-inch thickness. You can use any kind of rustic bread, sourdough is one good choice too. Drizzle some oil to a pan and turn to medium heat. Once warm enough, add the bread slices over and toast till slightly browned. Flip and continue to toast the other side then remove from heat. 

Have one peeled garlic clove ready. Rub only one side of the bread with garlic.

Destem and slice the tomato. Pick out some basil leaves. Drain the burrata cheese.

To assemble, take the bread slice with garlic-rubbed side up. Smear a layer of pesto sauce over. Lay a variety of cured ham on top.

Add tomato slices. Break the burrata in half and spread over the sandwich. Half burrata for each serving. 

Drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil over. Grate some aged Parmigiano Reggiano and garnish with basil leaves. 

I highly recommend to get at least one cured ham with black pepper, that pop of peppery aroma will strongly enhanced the overall flavor of the sandwich. 

After making these two open-faced sandwiches, I've still got some cured ham left in the fridge. They're not going to waste of course. Instead, I simply grab a piece when feeling a bit hungry, what a luscious snack, simply loving it. 

  

Other sandwich recipes:

• Roasted tomatoes Serrano ham and burrata pesto sandwich
• Sloppy Joes

Korean Soy Marinated Eggs (About 8 to 12 Eggs)

Not sure about others, but the exact thing that came to my mind when I first learnt about the soy marinated eggs is that so much soy sauce was used. Sometimes nearly one full cup, that's like half of my skinny bottle of expensive organic soy sauce. And that's what held me back from making the soy marinated eggs at first.

However, housewives are always smart and resourceful. I still went ahead and used up quite the amount of soy sauce. But instead of letting the marinade goes to waste in the end, I saved it up and used in other dishes. Either further marinate some fish with it, or as a dipping sauce for pork slices, or even added to dry noodles. Now I found my peace and nothing goes to waste after a dozen of delicious soy marinated eggs. 

Korean soy marinated eggs - 

Ingredients (about 8 to 12 eggs)?

• 8 to 12 eggs
• 1 red chili 
• 1 jalapeño chili
• 1/4 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 stalks scallion
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• Some salt
• Some sesame oil
• Some pre-boiled or filtered icy cold water

How?

Have a pot of filtered or pre-boiled water ready, either add lots of ice cubes there or store in the fridge first to lower the temperature. Since it'll be used to cool down the boiled eggs, I do suggest use drinkable water just to be safe.

Destem and chop the scallion. Destem and chop both the red chili and jalapeño. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Transfer all of the above to the big container that'll be use for marinating the eggs.

In that container, also add 3/4 cup of soy sauce, 3/4 cup of chicken stock, 1/8 cup of sugar,1 tablespoon of black vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds.

Have a pot filled with water, bring to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Once boiling, gently add in 8 to 12 eggs. I prefer fully cooked eggs here, but it's up to you if you want to aim for semi-runny yolk consistency. For fully cooked version, it'll take about 7 to 8 minutes.

Once done, transfer the eggs to cold water and wait till cool enough to handle by hand.

Once ready, remove the eggs from cold water and peel the shells. Perhaps give it a rinse to make sure no more tiny bits of shells remain. Put the eggs to the marinade.

Of course the eggs will appear pale and white in the beginning, but look, just after 10 minutes in the marinade and I move the eggs around, the other side was already darkened. 

Put on the lid and into the fridge overnight. Remember to move around the eggs half way through.

When ready to serve, drizzle extra marinade all over. Like what I did here, and all that quinoa rice soaked up the flavorful sauce, so good. 

If you'd like, drizzle some sesame oil too, just couple drops per egg should be enough.

Don't worry if you can't finish the eggs the day after. I actually enjoyed this batch of soy marinated eggs over like 5-day span. However, be sure to use very clean and dry utensils when scooping out the eggs. Especially don't let any water droplets get it, which might induce bacteria growth in that case.  

Other Korean recipes:

• Spicy Korean cucumber salad
• Korean brasied potatoes (gamja jorim)
• SPAM and gochujang kimchi stew