Pocket Tofu
Deep-fried and soaked in alkaline water until tender, then simmered with winter bamboo shoots in a milk-broth base to create hollow, pocket-shaped tofu.
Ingredients
Tofu (peeled, cut into 6 cm long × 2 cm square strips, 30 strips total)
750 g
Winter bamboo shoots (cut into rectangular slices)
50 g
Choy sum (washed)
50 g
Baking soda (dissolved in water to maintain a gentle boil)
10 g
Cooked vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
500 g
Meat broth (for blanching tofu)
500 g
Milky broth
500 g
White pepper powder
2 g
Shaoxing cooking wine
10 g
Sichuan salt
3 g
MSG
1 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the ingredients
Peel the tofu and cut into 6 cm long × 2 cm square strips to make 30 strips in total. Cut the winter bamboo shoots into rectangular slices. Wash the choy sum.
2
Deep-frying the tofu
Heat the cooked vegetable oil in a wok to about 70% hot (approximately 175 °C). Add the tofu strips in batches and fry until golden yellow, then remove and drain.
3
Alkaline-water soaking
In a separate pot bring 500 g of water to a boil and add the baking soda so the water keeps a gentle simmer. Place the fried tofu into the alkaline water and soak for about 4 minutes, then lift out and put into clean water to leach out the alkali. After that, return the tofu to the alkaline water for a second soak of about 5 minutes, then rinse once more in clean water.
4
Broth blanching to remove alkali
Pass the fried and soaked tofu briefly through boiling water once, then blanch it twice in the meat broth.
5
Assembling the dish
Bring the milky broth to a boil in a pot, add the winter bamboo shoots, white pepper powder, Shaoxing wine and Sichuan salt, and bring back to a boil. Add the tofu strips, choy sum and MSG, then ladle into a soup bowl and serve.
