Pipa Tofu

Gaz commented on my recent dishes - 'Why are you using the food processor for everything these days?' It's because I have been making chicken/tofu nuggets, pork/prawn siu mai, steamed minced chicken & tofu recently. Each time I use the food processor, he has to pack it up and place it back in its original position on the top of a shelf. So you see, there is work involved for him besides eating up my creations.

This pipa tofu is one of the dishes in the list of that requires the food processor. Do not fear the blandness of tofu, the minced prawns gave it the slightly bouncy texture and taste that  tofu do not have on its own.

They are called pipa tofu because it resembles the shape of the pipa, a Chinese guitar. The shape of the tofu is achieved by using a porcelain Chinese spoon.

200g tofu (semi firm)
200g prawns
3 shitake mushrooms
1 carrot

Whiz up prawns in food processor, till it becomes a paste. Crumble tofu and finely minced mushrooms and carrot into the paste, mix well.

Season with salt and white pepper. Use a chinese spoon as a mold, heap the mixture into the spoon, then dislodge the mixture from the spoon and fry till golden brown.

I used the ubiquitous soy sauce, oyster sauce and corn flour mixture as a sauce to drizzle over the tofu. There is a little effort required for this dish, but it tastes delicious!