This is typically a Hakka favourite in Malaysia. This recipe is handed down by Grandma to us. We missed Grandma at Chinese New Year celebration. It’s a lot of hard work and do take up time.

Now my dad taken over Grandma’s favourite dish. He had showed me how to do it. I am glad to learn from helping him to prepare it. I just don’t like deep frying it as the oil will splatter all over. Got my dad to do frying. It can be like play dough, for kids to help out in preparing. However, it does require gentle hand stuffing the paste inside the firm tofu, dried tofu, eggplant and bitter gourd individually.

“Daikon soup, a light East Asian dish made with simmered daikon radish, features variations like Japanese dashi and Korean beef soups. It aids digestion, boosts immunity with vitamin C, and reduces congestion, while being low in calories and rich in antioxidants and enzymes. Additionally, daikon is used in traditional medicine to relieve chest congestion, acts as a mild diuretic to help kidneys remove excess water and waste, and contains beneficial compounds like sulforaphane that protect cells from damage.”

Today, my yong tofu is made and fried one day in advance. Then added to daikon and bought roasted chicken to make soup as it is a cold day. Let’s make soup!!!

Ingredients

Malaysian Hakka yong tofu

750 g fish paste
600 g pork minced
1 1/2 heaped teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
freshly ground white pepper
10 pieces square firm tofu, cut half diagonally, make a small slit on the cut side, dig out and keep the flesh
10 pieces tau foo pok (deep fried tofu balls), cut half diagonally, make a small slit on the cut side, dig out and keep the flesh
3 medium long eggplant, slice at an angle, slice horizontally almost to the edge
about 3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
a small bowl of salted water
oil for frying

Daikon roasted chicken soup

1 large daikon, cut into chunk
1 store-bought roast chicken
1 1/2 L chicken stock or water
1 inch of peeled ginger, sliced or lightly crushed
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 Tbs Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine
oi
salt
pepper

Method

Do one day in advance or in the morning Malaysian Hakka yong tofu

In a small cup, mix the salt with the water well. Set aside the salted water. Meanwhile, add about 1/3 of the salted water, firm tofu, and tau foo pok flesh, along with a dash of pepper to the minced pork and paste; continue stirring the minced pork and paste to mix well until the salted water is used up. Refrigerate the mixture of minced pork and paste with cling film to harden it a bit for 1-2 hours. Then prepare other items for stuffing.

When time up, bring paste and minced pork to room temperature, use a teaspoon or wash hands use fingers to stuff the tofu (be extra gentle with this one), fried tofu pok and vegetables. The amount of paste to use varies, bitter gourd uses up more filling. Clean up the edges and smooth out the paste with some salted water. (Avoid overstuffing the tofu and vegetables as they may tear/break during frying).

In a large wok, heat up oil over medium heat and fry the stuffed items by batches, starting with the vegetables and ending with the fresh tofu. Lay the stuffing side down to cook the mince/paste, then flip over and around to cook the vegetable/tofu, about 7-9 minutes each side as meat cooks slower than just fish. The tau foo pok is already cooked, this will take the shortest time.

Ensure oil is hot enough for deep frying to avoid oil-clogged results. Drain the fried items on paper towels before transferring them to the serving platter. Set aside if making overnight until cool enough to put in fridge.

The next day

Daikon roasted chicken soup

Bring out the cool fried yong tofu. Wash and peel your daikon. Cut into chunk. Chopped bought chicken to bite sized. Heat 1 Tbs oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour chicken stock into the pot and bring it to a boil on high heat for 5 minutes. Add daikon chunk. Turn heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. You will know the daikon is ready when it is soft and slightly see-through.

Gently lower the cut bite sized chicken, and the fried yong tofu into the simmering soup. Cook for another 5 minutes just until the chicken and yong tofu are hot all the way through. Now season with Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine, salt and pepper to taste, and cook a further 1-3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Ladle into bowls and serve with rice immediate. Enjoy with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc!!!

Note: you can add carrots along with daikon and roast chicken. You can omit Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine and use 1/2 Tsp Chinese cooking vinegar. Garnish with spring onion or coriander or scatter some fried shallots. For extra flavours you can add dried squids about 1-2 small pieces or some dried scallops.

For yong tofu, you can add bitter gourd about 3 small bitter gourd, remove seeds and slice at an angle.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/06/25/yong-tofu-daikon-roasted-chicken-soup/

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