Recipe: Appetizing Pipa Tofu

Pipa Tofu. Place your steamed Pipa Tofu aside to cool and drain liquid (stock) from the plate into a small pan. This will be the reserved stock used in making the sauce later. Once the tofu cools down, lightly coat them with some Plain Flour.

It started with me thinking of the types of dishes we usually order at Chinese restaurants and this dish popped into my mind. Hmm, it shouldn't be too hard right? How to Make Pipa Tofu This fried tofu dish named after a pear-shaped Chinese lute can work as a crunchy snack or as a full-blown meal. You can cook Pipa Tofu using 16 ingredients and 3 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Pipa Tofu

1. It's 1 lb of Tofu,mashed.
2. It's 1/2 lb of Shrimp, chopped coursely.
3. You need 1/2 lb of Ground pork.
4. It's 1 of Egg.
5. You need 1/4 cup of All purpose flour.
6. It's 1/2 cup of Carrots, finely grated.
7. You need 3 tbsp of Spring onions, chopped.
8. It's 3 tbsp of Parsley or cilantro, chopped.
9. You need 1 of Salt and pepper, to taste.
10. Prepare 10 of Pcs soaked dried mushrooms, chopped.
11. You need 1 of Soy sauce.
12. It's 1 of Oyster sauce.
13. It's 3/4 of Sugar and salt to taste.
14. You need 2 tbsp of Corn starch.
15. It's 2 tbsp of Water, to dilute the cornstarch- use for thickening.
16. You need 2 cup of Water or stock.

In a large bowl, combine tofu, fishcake, cornstarch, egg white, salt and pepper; mix well. In a wok, heat oil over medium high. Using a Chinese porcelain spoon, scoop tofu mixture and mold into a teardrop shape pipa (a Chinese musical instrument like a mandolin). Pipa tofu are sometimes served with a light gravy made with chicken stock flavored with soy or oyster sauce and thickened with corn starch.

Pipa Tofu step by step

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground pork, chopped shrimps, chopped mushrooms and mashed tofu.. Add one beaten egg, flour, salt and pepper.. Add the vegetables and mix well...
2. Form into balls or spoon shaped (oblong) and deep fry until golden brown. Set aside...
3. To make the sauce, in a small sauce pan- bring water, soy sauce, oyster sauce to boil.. Season with sugar, salt and then thicken with diluted starch.. Add the fried tofu to the sauce, garnish with cilantro and serve hot...

I think they taste fine all by themselves and that's how I serve them. The dish gets its name from the Chinese lute-like instrument called the pipa. These oval tofu fritters resemble the pear-shaped body. I love tofu in any form but for those who claim that they hate tofu have a tendency to like this dish which features oval shaped tofu balls. These balls are so called as the shape resembles the "Pipa", a chinese musical instrument.