Yong Tau Foo

Yong Tau Foo

Type	Main course, Soup
Place of origin	China
Main ingredients	Tofu, meat paste (fish and pork)
Cookbook: Yong Tau Foo  Media: Yong Tau Foo

Yong Tau Foo
Traditional Chinese	釀豆腐
Simplified Chinese	酿豆腐
Literal meaning	"stuffed bean curd"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin niàngdòufǔ Hakka Romanization Ngiong Tew Foo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping yong4dao9foo4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ nn̂g-tāu-hū

Yong tau foo (also spelled yong tao foo, yong tau fu, yong tau hu or yong tofu; yentafo in Thailand) is a Hakka Chinese cuisine consisting primarily of tofu that has been filled with either a ground meat mixture or fish paste (surimi). Variation of this food include vegetables and mushrooms stuffed with ground meat or surimi. Yong tau foo is eaten in numerous ways, either dry with a sauce or served as a soup dish.

It is commonly found in parts of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, and in cities where there are large Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien populations.

Variations

Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Traditional

Traditional Hakka versions of yong tau foo consists of tofu cubes stuffed and heaped with minced meat (usually lamb or pork) and herbs, then fried until golden brown, or sometimes braised. Variations include usage of various condiments, including eggplants, shiitake mushrooms, and bitter melon stuffed with the same meat paste. Traditionally, yong tau foo is served in a clear yellow bean stew along with the bitter melon and shiitake variants.

South East Asia

In South East Asia, the term "yong tau foo" is used to describe a dish instead of the stuffed tofu item exclusively. It is a variation of the above Hakka cuisine as cooked by other dialect groups. The dish can contain a varied selection of food items, including young tau foo, fish balls, crab sticks, bitter melons, cuttlefish, lettuce, ladies fingers, as well as chilis, and various forms of fresh produce, seafood and meats common in Chinese cuisine. Vegetables such as bitter melon and chilis are usually filled with surimi. The foods are then sliced into bite-size pieces, cooked briefly in boiling broth and then served either in the broth as soup or with the broth in a separate bowl. The dish is eaten with chopsticks and a soup spoon and can be eaten by itself or served with a bowl of steamed rice, noodles or rice vermicelli. Another variation of this dish would be to serve it with laksa gravy or curry sauce. Essential accompaniments are a spicy, vinegary chili sauce, originally made with red fermented bean curd and distantly similar in taste to Sriracha sauce, and a distinctive brown sweet bean sauce or hoisin sauce for dipping.

See also

• List of Chinese soups
• List of soups
• List of tofu dishes