Easy Homemade Egg Tofu

Egg tofu is one of my kids favourite tofu. In fact, they love all kinds of tofu, as most kids do. As for myself, I prefer the soft local white tofu over egg tofu.
I have been wanting to give this recipe a try for years ever since I bought this local cookbook years ago. Haha! Thanks to Little Thumbs Up event, where the ingredient for this month is Soy Beans, and hosted by Mich from Piece of Cake, this is just the push I needed to finally try my hands at making some egg tofu, though this is a quick version, as I've used store-bought soy bean milk, direct from the carton. Did not want to make my own soy bean milk, just in case the tofu fails. Making soy bean milk is lot of work, if you are doing it manually. I used to make it all the time, years ago, and have not made any in ages.

Let's see how this Homemade Egg Tofu is made :

(note : this recipe is taken from a local recipe book, and there are only three brief sentences in the instructions. I'm giving the actual recipe instructions from the book, refer recipe below. And I've included my own step-by-step photos).

The recipe does not indicate how long it would take for the tofu to cool, or whether it needs refrigeration overnight, and the steps of unmoulding the tofu, as it is very soft and fragile.  For a novice at making tofu for the first time, it was really confusing, I was at a loss when it comes to unmoulding it! Refer to my step-by-step photos below, hopefully it would be of help, if you want to give it a try. Should you have a better way of unmoulding the tofu, please do share!

Plain Soy Bean milk, no sugar added.

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soya bean milk, egg whites, egg yolks and salt, until combined (I have omitted both the pepper and chicken stock granules as calls for in the recipe). And have reduced the amount of salt, as I've wanted to use it for savory dishes later and do not want it to be too salty. Adjust to your own preference, though I think my measurement of scant 1/2 teaspoon is just right, with just a light hint of saltiness.
2. Get ready a 8" square tray, lined with a plastic, make sure it is food-grade plastic, or use a cling wrap. Either grease the insides of the pan or brush with some water, so that the plastic would stick to the pan. Strain the mixture into the tray. (If you are worried about using plastic, like I am at first, but this is over a low simmer and for a short period of time, so I decided to go ahead with it, just make sure it is food-grade plastic).
3. The strained soya bean milk mixture. Prepare the steamer, as soon as the water comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, let water come to a simmer.
4. Place filled tray in steamer, cover and steam for 20 minutes over low simmer, though mine took about 40 minutes, until the tofu is set. Increase water in the steamer pot if water level is low. You may notice a layer of water over the tofu, check the layer underneath by tilting the tray, if the water flows to the side, and the tofu underneath are set (though it will be whobbly, but not in liquid form), then it is ready, my method! But be careful the steamer is hot, best remove the tray first.

Now, comes the tricky part : unmoulding the very soft, fragile tofu! Needs some thinking and adaptation from my stuffs in my kitchen!

5. The tofu took a few hours to cool, and it was still very soft. So when the tofu is no longer hot, I placed the tray in the refrigerator overnight, hopefully it will set further.
6. On the next day, remove tray from refrigerator, place a plastic sheet over the tofu, and another tray of the same size so that the base of the second tray fits on the surface of the tofu, this is to minimize the break-up of the very soft tofu when turning it upside down later. (Removing the tofu by holding the two sides of the plastic wrap and lifting it up, will break the soft tofu, I've tried, and it looks like the tofu is going to break up, so I gave up!).
7. Very gently but swiftly, hold the two trays together and turn them upside down, now the bottom tray is up, and the second tray is at the bottom, with the top facing down.
8. Remove the top tray (see ** below), and place a large cutting board over the tofu (still with the plastic on top of the tofu).
9. Holding the shorter two sides of the cutting board and the tray together, slowly turn them upside down, with the cutting board now at the bottom. Remove the tray, the tofu is now on the piece of plastic, on top of the cutting board.
10. Cut the tofu to size required.
11. Use a pastry scraper to gently lift tofu pieces and place on serving plate.

** You can acutally stop at step 8, and cut the tofu on the tray itself, if you want to. I just prefer to use a bigger cutting board so that I have some work space to slide the tofu onto the pastry scraper.

A piece of cut tofu. We had two pieces for our dinner that night. 

Store the balance in individual containers for easier transferring to a plate later on, simply by placing the plate on the container and turn the container upside down. It is impossible to lift the tofu by hand without breaking it up! Store the tofu in the refrigerator.

Homemade Egg Bean Curd

(source from : Hawkers' Fair Simplified)

1000 ml plain soya bean milk 

5 egg whites

3 egg yolks

1-1/2 tsp salt (I used scant 1/2 tsp)

dash of pepper and chicken stock granules to taste (Omitted these two ingredients)

1. Combine all ingredients, mix well and strain.
2. Line a 8"/20cm square tray with plastic wrapper and pour in mixture
3. Bring water to boil, lower the heat and steam for 20 minutes or until set. Remove.

Homemade Egg Tofu with Oyster Sauce and Crispy Fried Shallots, for our dinner, my kids favourite tofu dish. I'm sure my Asian blogger friends, each has their own family recipe for this dish, it really is an evergreen old-time favourite! I'm giving my recipe below, the way I always make at home, with store-bought tofu. I would still buy ready-made tofu, as it is really convenient to keep a pack or two in the fridge, but now that I have made it myself, I do not mind making this again, when I have the mood, that is! Haha! 

Maybe now is a good idea to invest in one of those soya bean milk maker!

The family loves it! The tofu is very soft and really smooth, yummy! You can see how smooth it is from the picture above. You can pour the sauce over the cold tofu straight from the fridge or, if you like, remove the tofu ealier from the fridge and have it at room temperature later. Either way, both are good!

Tofu with Oyster Sauce and Crispy Fried Shallots
(by kitchen flavours)
1 piece tofu
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp light soy sauce, or to taste
1 tbsp warm water
1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste
1 tbsp shallots oil
2 tbsps crispy fried shallots
2-3 tbsps chopped spring onions

Place tofu on serving plate.

In a small bowl, mix oyster sauce, light soy sauce, warm water, sugar to taste, stir until sugar dissolves. Adjust seasoning accordingly. (Sometimes I placed this small bowl of mixture in my rice cooker, over the hot cooked rice, for about 10 minutes, just to make sure the sugar is dissolved, remove and use as follows). Add shallots oil, stir and pour over tofu. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions, and then the crispy fried shallots over, generously. Enjoy!

#98/100


This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

Ingredient for this month is Soy Beans

I'm linking this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #5 hosted by Kitchen Flavours