Steamed Tofu and Egg with Ground Pork Toppings 肉末豆腐蒸蛋

This is more of a milder rice-killing dish. If making for kids, simply omit the chilies used in the recipe. However, for adults, a little spicy kick will only make the tofu even tastier. 

Steamed tofu and egg with ground pork toppings 肉末豆腐蒸蛋 - 

Ingredients?

• 3 eggs
• 1 box/300 grams silken tofu
• 1 small box/less than 1lb ground pork
• 1 string scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small chunk young ginger
• 1 red chili (or 1 teaspoon of chopped chili sauce, optional)
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup room temperature water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Some corn starch and water mixture

How?

If using fresh chili, destem and chop the remaining. Destem and chop the scallion. Scrape the skin of young ginger then give it a fine chop. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Drain the tofu and slice to medium size cubes. Prepare the corn starch and water mixture on the side.

Beat 3 eggs in a bowl along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix in 1/3 cup of room temperature water and beat again. Skim-off the bubbles on top.

Prepare a serving dish with some depth that can be used in a steamer. If you're not sure, try to find something that's oven-safe. 

Add the cubed tofu to the serving dish and make sure it spreads out evenly. Pour the beaten egg over. Cover with cling foil and poke some holes to allow the steam to escape. The holes can also keep out any water dripping down.

Steam for 15 minutes. It's ok if you over-steam it, the texture of the egg and tofu mixture won't get too hard even with longer steaming time. Once ready, remove the container from the steamer and also remove the cling foil.

Not let's prepare the ground pork toppings. Use a pan and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Switch to medium heat. Transfer ground pork over and stir-fry till almost changed color, that means almost cooked-through.

Add in garlic and ginger. Also add in chilies if using. Stir-fry till aromatic.

Add in 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Give it a mix and let it cook for a little longer. Once the pork seemed absorbed the sauce, switch to lowest heat.

Have the corn starch and water mixture ready. Mix again right before using. Pour that to the pan while stirring the ground pork at the same time to prevent clumping. There's no need to add too much corn starch and water mixture because we are aiming for a slightly thickened consistency, not a sticky gooey topping.

Pour the ground pork right over steamed tofu and egg. Garnish with some chopped scallion.

When enjoying this dish, simply scoop all the way down in order to get both the light steamed tofu and egg on the bottom together with flavorful toppings. 

This dish is quite simple to make. In fact, I can recall eating similar version of it from elementary school's lunch boxes many times in Taiwan. Definitely one of the favorites among younger kids.   

Extended reading:

• Tomato egg and tofu soup 番茄雞蛋豆腐湯

Green Beans and Lardon Risotto for Four

Even the most plain ingredient can be used in a risotto recipe and shine. Take the green beans for instance, some might not be fond of its earthy taste, but once you cook the chopped green beans in lardon fat with extended cooking time in chicken stock, green beans can transformed into soft and flavorful element for a somewhat fancy risotto dish.

Green beans and lardon risotto -

Ingredients (about 4 portions)?

• 22~24 green beans
• 120 grams lardon 
• 2 regular measuring cups arborio rice
• 1/2 small onion
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 small bundle/25 grams flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 lemon (for the zest only)
• Some aged Parmigiano Reggiano

How?

Slice the lardon to strips. Peel and chop the onion. Finely chop the flat leaf parsley, including the stems. Zest half the lemon. Snap both ends of the green beans and pull out the strings attached if any. Once done, chop the green beans.

Prepare a big pan or I used a Dutch oven instead. Add in the lardon and switch to medium heat. Sear till the fat starts to render and the lardon turned crispy brown. 

Transfer onion over along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix and sear till the onion turns translucent or even slightly golden on the edges.

Add the beans and give it a quick stir. Cook for about two minutes.

Add in rice and give it a few mixes. Make sure every grain has been coated with the lardon fat.

Pour in dry white wine and mix a bit, cook for about 30 seconds. Pour in some chicken stock and water, about one cup at a time. Cook till the liquid has been nearly fully absorbed by the grains then continue to add more stock or water. 

Keep doing so till the rice is about ready. Towards the end, add in some unsalted butter, which will create a velvety touch to the risotto.

Also add in most of the chopped parsley and all the lemon zest. Mix and let it cook for one more minutes.

Plate and garnish with some of the remaining chopped parsley. Also shave some aged Parmigiano Reggiano over.

It's up to you how long you would like to cook the risotto. Some prefer a "dryer" consistency, like the one I have here this time. Some prefer to cook the rice a bit longer. In that case, perhaps use one to two more cups of chicken stock or water for a creamier result. 

Extended reading:

• Simple but not boring - asparagus risotto