Pocket Tofu
A traditional soup dish from western Sichuan. Tofu is deep-fried and treated with alkali to create a hollow, pouch-like center, then served in a milky white broth with winter bamboo shoots. The soup is rich, savory, and aromatic with a mellow flavor.
Ingredients
gypsum tofu (intact, peeled)
1000 g
winter bamboo shoot tips (cut into domino-shaped slices)
100 g
fresh seasonal leafy vegetable hearts (washed)
50 g
food alkali
10 g
Sichuan salt
3 g
milky soup stock
1000 g
white pepper powder
1 g
meat broth
750 g
Shaoxing wine
5 g
refined vegetable oil (heated to 70% of its smoke point)
1000 g
monosodium glutamate (MSG)
1 g
Instructions
1
Initial Preparation
Peel the intact gypsum tofu, cut it into 30 strips each 6 cm long and 2 cm square, cut the winter bamboo shoots into domino-shaped slices, and wash the vegetable hearts.
2
Frying and Soaking Tofu
Use two woks placed on two burners. Add 500g of boiling water to one wok with food alkali to keep it at a low boil. Heat the refined vegetable oil in the other wok to 70% of its smoke point. Deep fry the tofu strips in batches until golden brown, then remove and soak in the alkaline water for about 4 minutes. Take out and rinse in clean water to remove the alkali taste, then soak in the alkaline water again for about 5 minutes, and rinse once more with clean water.
3
Blanching
Blanch the soaked fried tofu once in boiling water, then blanch it twice in meat broth.
4
Final Assembly
Bring the milky soup stock to a boil in a pot, add winter bamboo shoots, white pepper powder, Shaoxing wine, and Sichuan salt. Once boiling again, add the tofu strips, vegetable hearts, and MSG. Stir gently, then pour into a soup bowl and serve.
