Cold Tofu with Feng Cheng Toon Vegetarian Chops

This is a NO COOK DISH that anyone can do. Just get a pack of silken tofu, cut it into 8 sections. On top of each tofu cube, put ½ teaspoon of ‘Feng Cheng Toon Vegetarian Chops’ (香椿素食肉燥), garnish with chilli slice and coriander. Done and so Simple!

If you want the silken tofu to have softer texture, you need to steam it. Where to get? Friendly Vegetarian Supplier again!

Durian Tofu Dessert

Durian

Durian Tofu Dessert

Ah, Durian Tofu Dessert. Durian is a popular fruit here. I just grab a pack of normal quality durian from the supermarket and make this dessert.

Preparation: 8 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 100g-150g durian, deseeded
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled.

Mango Tofu Pudding

After making the strawberry tofu dessert, I decide to try out using mango. This turn out to be like a pudding. So, experiment with different types of fruit to come up a unique tofu dessert. It’s fun. You may opt to replace passion fruit with other fruits, if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 1 ripe mango, chopped
° 1 passion fruit
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled and top with passion fruit.

Strawberry Tofu Dessert

Mixing tofu and fruit to make a quick and simple dessert. There is no cooking required at all. For those who do not like soy or tofu, this dessert might be suitable for them. The blended tofu’s texture is so creamy just like yogurt and the strawberries lend its sweet taste and freshness to make it so delectable. A great healthy dessert for kids who do not like fruit. Strawberries bits can be added, if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2 -3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 200g strawberries, chopped
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled.

Curry Tofu Cubes

This is another way to cook tofu or beancurd. If you consume garlic or shallot, you can get these “heat-up” curry tofu cubes from the supermarket. Otherwise, you can whip it up, it is rather simple. Substitute curry leaves with lemongrass, if desired or totally omit them if you could not get these herbs.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 firm tofu/beancurd (225g), pat dry, cubes and deep-fried/pan-fried.
° 1 sprig curry leaves
° 100ml-125ml water
° 100ml-125ml coconut milk
° 1 tablespoon curry powder
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° salt and sugar, to taste

Method
1. Mix the curry powder and chilli powder with a tad of water to form curry paste and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pot or wok, fry the curry leaves for ½ minutes. Add in the curry paste and fry over medium heat until fragrant.
3. Throw in the tofu, water, coconut milk and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
4. Simmer for 5-8 minutes or until the gravy is slightly dry.
5. Serve hot with rice.

Simple Deep-Fried Tofu

Firm Tofu/Beancurd before cooking / Cut Deep-Fried Tofu


Tofu diced prior to deep-fried

This is a simple way of cooking firm tofu or beancurd. If silken tofu is used, the water in it must be drained and coated with some corn starch prior to deep-frying. You can either choose to cut the tofu into small cubes prior to deep-frying, if prefer. The deep-fried tofu goes well with various dipping sauce, like light soy sauce, light soy sauce with chilli, chilli or tomatoes sauce, teriyaki sauce etc.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 firm tofu/beancurd (225g), pat dry
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds.
2. Deep fry the beancurd until golden yellow. Remove, drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.
3. Cut the tofu into smaller square.
4. Serves with light soy sauce with chilli or chilli sauce.

Tofu Sandwiches

Tofu Sandwich, anyone? It is simple, just pan-fried the firm tofu (halved from side way). After that, place some toasted seaweed, tomatoes slices, cucumber slices, lettuces, vegetarian ham and sprinkle some sesame seed on top. What to add to the filling, is all personal preference.

For kids, just cut into smaller square and make sure it is not too huge for them to pop into their tiny mouth.

Tofu with Black Chilli Bean

So simple! I used chilli black bean, a product which I just discover and is a vegetarian product. I had used the chilli black bean to stir-fried power bean.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), cut into cubes and drained well
° 1 clove garlic or 1 thin slice ginger, chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 1 tablespoon chilli black bean, or to taste
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves or spring onion, for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the tofu and chilli black bean. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves/spring onion.
4. Serve immediately.

Tofu Croquettes

This is quick and easy to prepare and inexpensive. Reduce calories by baking rather than deep-frying these tofu croquettes.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 1 small firm tofu/beancurd, pat dried and mashed
° 2 (125g) harsh brown, mashed
° 2 (50g) fresh shiitake mushroom, chopped
° 50g fresh corn kernel
° ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
° 40g-50g self-raising flour
° salt and pepper, to taste
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Combine tofu, harsh brown, mushroom, corn kernel, sesame oil, flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Make into 4 patties.
2. Heat oil over a high fire and deep-fry the patties until golden yellow. Remove, drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.
3. Serve with chilli sauce or dipping sauce.

Toasted Tofu with Breadcrumbs

I found this recipe at Chow Vegan’s Blog - Crispy Baked Tofu and was so tempted to try it. This is another easy way to cook tofu, if you do not like deep-fried tofu. I did it with some variation and toasted it in the toaster oven. As this is a vegan recipe, I omit egg and replace with batter to ‘hold’ the breadcrumbs. Marinate the tofu with spice salt or curry powder or seasoning, if desired. I added some oil in the batter and breadcrumbs, as I do not have any oil spray. Take a look at Chow Vegan's Crispy Baked Tofu.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (makes 6)
° 1 small firm tofu, pat dried and cut into six slices
° 25g breadcrumbs
° 1½ teaspoons olive oil
° 1/3 teaspoon spice salt
° 1 teaspoon self-raising flour
° 1 tablespoon water

Method
1. Combine breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of spice salt a bowl, and mix well. Set aside.
2. Combine flour, water, ½ teaspoon of olive oil, and pinch of spice salt. Mix well to form the batter.
3. Spread the batter evenly on the tofu slices and coated well with breadcrumbs.
4. Grease a baking tray with oil and place the tofu slices on it. Toast or baked for 15 minutes or until it is golden yellow. Turn them over halfway.
5. Serve hot with chilli sauce or dipping sauce.

Tofu Seaweed Roll

This is a simple tofu seaweed roll. You may want to wipe the beancurd sheet thoroughly to remove the saltiness. If not, just omit salt in the filling. Just add any other ingredients such as carrot, water chestnut, pumpkin or mushroom to the mashed tofu, if desired.

This is roughly the way Vegetarian/Mock Fish is made. Just that firm tofu is too soft and need to be replaced or mixed with “Dou Bao” or some other ingredients. With cornstarch added and the finally product is wrapped up with cellophane paper and steamed.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (makes 1)
° 1 small firm tofu, pat dried and mashed
° 1 piece nori sheet
° 1 piece beancurd sheet, cut into 20cm x 22cm and wipe with wet kitchen towel
° ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
° salt and pepper to taste
° granulated mushroom bouillon or seasoning, to taste
° few slices fresh red chilli (optional), finely chopped
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Combine mashed tofu, sesame oil, salt, pepper, mushroom seasoning, chilli in a bowl and mix well.
2. Lay the beancurd sheet on a plate or chopping board. Then, place the nori sheet on top.
3. Spread the mashed tofu on the nori sheet on one side. Roll up as a spring roll. Tap some water at the end to seal up.
4. Heat oil over a high fire and deep fry the beancurd until golden yellow Remove, drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.
5. Cut into sections and serves with chilli or dipping sauce.

Claypot Braised Tofu with Red Fermented Beancurd

Running out of recipe soon, sigh! What’s next? Hmmm… so I just try the below, it is not something very fantastic but it is still edible. Red fermented beancurd can be used to marinate firm tofu for deep-frying. Just mash the red fermented beancurd, season with sugar, sesame oil and mix well with the tofu.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 2 firm tofu/beancurd (225g)
° small handful small black fungus, soaked and trimmed
° 1 piece red fermented bean curd (2cm x 2cm cube), mashed finely
° 250ml water
° 1 slice ginger (½ cm thick)
° 2 star anise
° 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into a claypot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serves hot.

Seaweed Tofu

Spot this “Lo Sam” brand – Seaweed Tofu at the supermarket. One good thing about this, just heat it up and you can eat it. Simple, isn’t it?

What I did was, steamed the tofu and sliced it. Wrap it with lettuce and dip with chicken rice chilli sauce or freshly sliced chilli with light soy sauce.

Tofu with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce

Very simple! And it is extremely fast to whip up and yummy.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), cut into cubes
° 1 clove garlic or 1 thin slice ginger, chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves or spring onion, for garnish
° ½ teaspoon black and white sesame seeds (optional), for garnish

Sauce
° 2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce, or to taste
° 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (optional)
° 3 tablespoons water

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till fragrant.
3. Add the tofu and sauce mixture. Stir occasionally and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves/spring onion and sesame seeds.
5. Serve immediately.

Tofu and Pickled BaiLing Mushroom Congee

Something simple! I brought a bottle of Pickled Bailing Mushrooms from the Supermarket, thinking it would be good to keep as Emergency Food (Have a 2-week Supply of Food at Home Now for Any Emergency). Then, I remember a Non-vegetarian which I met sometime ago, taught me how to prepare an easy congee using tofu and can braised peanuts. So, instead of using the braised peanuts, I replaced with Pickled Bailing Mushrooms and it tastes good too. Don’t forget the pepper!

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins, plus 30 mins standing time

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1 small firm tofu, cubed
° 3-4 thin slices ginger, finely shredded
° 3 seedless red dates (optional)
° 1.2 litres water
° 1 bottle Pickled Bailing Mushrooms (vegetarian)
° salt and pepper, to taste
° ¼ fresh red chilli (optional), seeded and finely chopped, for garnish
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Put the rice, tofu, ginger, red dates and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 1 hour or more, if desired.
2. Bring the congee to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to stands for 30 minutes or more. Throw in the pickled bailing mushrooms and re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. To thicken the congee, mix 1-2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour with 4 tablespoons of water and stir into the congee, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls, garnish with chilli, corianders leaves and serve hot.

Tofu with Preserved Olive Vegetables (Simplified Version)

Steamed Tofu with Preserved Olive Vegetables
Mashed IT and Mix well!

Here is the simplified version of the recipe Tofu with Preserved Olive Vegetables. Just steam the 1 pack of silken tofu topped with 2 tablespoons of Preserved Olive Vegetables for about 8 minutes. Mashed the tofu and mix well with the Preserved Olive Vegetables, garnish with chilli (optional) and coriander (optional) and serve.

Just remember to drain the preserved vegetable, as it is rather oily, you will need to drain it well. For me, I would put them into a paper coffee filter bag and squeeze out all the oil.

Tip: Steam Tofu in Rice Cooker while cooking rice, for less work and to save time.

Tofu with Preserved Olive Vegetables

If you do not mind having preserved vegetables with bit of MSG once in a while, this is a perfect easy dish to whip up in few minutes and it really goes well with plain white fragrant rice. All you need is preserved olive vegetables and the ingredients are mustard, plant oil, olive, salt, monosodium glutamate. As this preserved vegetable is rather oily, you will need to drain it well. For me, I would put them into a paper coffee filter bag and squeeze out all the oil. No seasoning is required, as the preserved olive vegetables are tasty enough. By the way, this preserved vegetables is often used as a condiment for congee or porridge.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), cut into cubes
° 2 tablespoons preserved olive vegetables, drained well in a paper coffee filter bag
° 250ml water
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
° ¼ fresh chilli (optional), seeded and chopped
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Combine the preserved olive vegetables with 125ml of water in a bowl. Pour into a wok and bring to a boil.
2. Add in the tofu and cook for 1 minute.
3. Combine the tapioca starch with 125ml of water and mix well. Pour over the tofu, stirring slowly and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves and chilli.

Stir-Fried Fuzzy Melon with Silken Tofu

This is a light and simple dish. Add vegetarian ham or sweet beancurd wafer, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 150g-175g shredded fuzzy melon or hairy melon
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g), cut into cubes
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 200ml vegetable stock or water
° 1 tablespoon tapioca flour, mix with 50ml vegetable stock or water
° salt and sugar, to taste
° pepper to taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
° few slices fresh red chilli, for garnish

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the fuzzy melon, carrot and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the fuzzy melon is tender. Drizzle with cooking rice wine and season to taste with salt and sugar.
3. Add in the tofu and stir in the vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil.
4. Stir in the tapioca flour mixture and bring to a boil. Sprinkle sesame oil and pepper and transfer to a serving dish.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves, chilli and serve immediately.

Bitter Gourd and Soy Milk Soup

Hey, this is a simple soup and yet very healthy. If you do not like unsweetened soy milk, just use vegetable stock.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g bitter gourd, sliced
° 2 tomatoes, cut into 4 wedges
° 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
° 100g enoki or golden needle mushrooms (optional), base trimmed
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries, soaked
° 6 slices ginger
° 250ml water or vegetable stock
° 250ml unsweetened soy milk
° salt and pepper, to taste
° dash sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the bitter gourd slices and mix well. Let it stands for 10-15 minutes and rinse off the salt. Drain well and set aside.
2. Place the ginger, water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Add in bitter gourd, tomatoes, mushrooms, soy milk and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Throw in the wolfberries and season to taste with salt, pepper and sesame oil.
4. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.

Mini Cocktail Rolls

There is this cocktail roll that looks like mini spring roll with sambal shrimp filling sold in the supermarkets. I decide to make some little cute mini rolls using wonton wrapper instead of the spring roll pastry skin with tofu or banana filling. If you prefer a spicy version, spread a little bit of sambal chilli on the wonton wrapper before placing the tofu. Or you can make different filling rolls and mix them up. Let there be some elements of mystery, suspense and fun in guessing what are you going to have when you pick one – salty, sweet or spicy!

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 20)
° 20 pieces wonton wrappers
° 1 small firm tofu/beancurd, cut into 20 small rectangles and pan-fried
or
° 2 small bananas, peeled and cut into 20 small rectangles
° vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Place a piece of spring roll wrapper on a chopping board or plate. Place a piece of tofu or banana on it and roll up. Repeat for the rest.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Drop the mini roll into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the mini roll with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Arrange on a serving plate and serve immediately