Yong Tau Foo in Black Bean Sauce

Yong Tau Foo in Black Bean Sauce

Note: This was first posted in Dec 2008, now updated with new photos and improved recipe.

The humble Yong Tau Foo 釀豆腐 (yong tau hoo) is one of my favourite local food. Although the literal meaning of Yong Tau Foo (YTF) stands for stuffed bean curd, the name has expanded to a broader term and apply not just for stuffed bean curd, but to all kinds of ingredients stuffed with fish paste – for example, lady’s fingers (orka), bitter gourd (bitter melon), eggplant (brinjal) etc. Even ingredients which are not stuffed such as meat balls, dumplings and certain vegetables have now been associated with common YTF selections. There is a stall at the wet market near my home which sells excellent YTF, and I will not miss buying from them whenever I’m there. I usually cook a no-fuss YTF soup with noodles for a simple, fast and healthy one-dish meal. But sometimes, we are in the mood for something different, and that will be a YTF claypot dish cooked in black bean sauce. The YTF sauce coated in the home-made black bean sauce is so deliciously savoury and spicy, we usually need more rice to polish off all the sauce. If you enjoy black bean sauce, check out my spicy black bean sauce chicken recipe.

Claypot Yong Tau Foo

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

- 350g yong tau foo (about 15 pieces or so)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp fermented black beans, rinsed, patted dry, mashed slightly with fork
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chilli padi, sliced
- 1 tsp hot bean sauce/la dou ban jiang (辣豆瓣酱)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- cornstarch solution (1 tsp cornstarch mix with 2 tsp water)

Directions
1. Cook yong tau foo pieces in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in claypot or wok and stir fry fermented black beans, garlic and chilli until fragrant.
3. Add spicy bean sauce, oyster sauce and water to the casserole, stir evenly to form a paste.
4. Add the blanched yong tau foo pieces and stir to coat them well in the sauce.
5. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch solution.

Cooking Notes
1. For a cheaters, no-fuss version, you can use store-bought sauce such as Lee Kum Kee spicy black bean sauce. I personally prefer home-made version as you can tweak the sauce to your liking.
2. When cooking the yong tau foo pieces, note that cooking time will vary for different types of YTF. For example, the thinner slices will cook faster, so take them out earlier as they are cooked.
3. For best results, cook and serve this dish in a claypot.

Similar Recipe
- Black Bean Sauce Chicken

Related Article
- Claypot Cooking Care

Check out all claypot recipes.

Ingredients Used bean curd • chilli padi • cornstarch • fermented black bean • Fish • garlic • oyster sauce • spicy bean sauce • Yong Tau Foo

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