Snow Flower Tofu
A Zhejiang specialty in which minced chicken and egg whites are whisked into a fluffy paste and gently braised together with silken tofu, yielding a pristine snow-white finish.
Ingredients
Tender tofu (peeled, cut into small pieces, blanched)
200 g
Chicken tenderloin (tendons removed, minced)
25 g
Egg whites (beaten into egg foam paste)
5
Cooked ham (cut into fine mince)
10 g
Shaoxing wine
5 g
Refined salt
4 g
MSG
1 g
Dry starch
15 g
Wet starch
15 g
Chicken consommé
300 g
Rendered pork fat
150 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Peel the tender tofu and cut into small pieces. Blanch in a pot of boiling water, then remove and drain. Cut the cooked ham into fine mince. Remove the tendons from the chicken tenderloin and mince it finely; place in a bowl, loosen with 3 g of water, then mix in the Shaoxing wine, 2.5 g of refined salt, 0.5 g of MSG, and dry starch until well blended. Place the egg whites in a basin and, using chopsticks, beat rapidly in one direction until they form a snowy-white foam paste, then pour into the bowl with the chicken paste and stir together evenly to make a chicken paste batter.
2
Step 2
In a wok, combine the chicken consommé and tofu, bring to a boil over high heat, add the refined salt and MSG, and cook until the tofu absorbs the flavor. Lift the tofu out with a slotted spoon and place it in a serving bowl. Bring the remaining broth in the wok back to a boil, thicken lightly with wet starch, then slowly pour in the chicken paste batter while constantly pushing and stirring with a ladle and adding rendered pork fat (to avoid scorching). Once the chicken paste is cooked, add the tofu and gently combine, then transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with the ham mince, and serve.
