The Yong Tau Foo originated from the chinese ethnic group, Hakka.
It is basically Tofu stuffed with minced meat (add some salted fish to the minced meat mixture for that extra oomph!) and deep fried.
My Mum is a Hakka so she would made it for us periodically.
I guess as time progresses, people became more health conscious resulting in more varieties being made with vegetables such as brinjal, okra, chilli pepper and bittergourd.
The name Yong Tau Foo has thus been used liberally to apply to foods prepared in this manner.
Yong Tau Foo in soup is generally a healthy (just omit the fried stuffs) one-meal dish comprising mostly of vegetables.
Well, it just happened that it is one of those days when I felt lazy and do not want to cook up a storm in the kitchen.
I bought some pieces of Yong Tau Foo from the wet market and simply threw them into the stock in the evening and voila, dinner is served.
Serve this over a piping hot bowl of steamed rice.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
Bon appetit!
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Ingredients (Stock):
1 handful of Ikan Bilis (guts removed, washed)
1 cup Soybeans
Your favourite Yong Tau Foo pieces
1.8L Water
Optional:
Some pork bones (blanched)
Some garlic and ginger to neutralize the 'fishy' smell of the Ikan Bilis
Method:
1) Boil a pot of water
2) Add Soybeans
3) Add Ikan Bilis (in a cloth bag for easy removal - see note)
4) Remove the bag containing the Ikan Bilis after 20 minutes
5) Add Yong Tau Foo pieces
6) The soup is ready when all the Yong Tau Foo pieces floats up
7) Serves 3 |
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| Assorted pieces of Yong Tau Foo |
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Note:
- Ikan Billis will leave a bitter taste when cooked for too long. I usually do not boil it for more than 20 minutes .
- As Soybeans need a longer time to cook, you could boil it for half an hour more on slow fire after removing the Ikan Bilis.
- If you are pressed for time due to work, you could always prepare the stock the night before.
- You can actually use this stock as a soup base for most soups.
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