Hakka Stuffed Yong To Fu

Recently, I came across a sharing in Facebook on this Hakka Stuffed Yong To Fu.  I never have the opportunity to learn this Hakka dish from my own Hakka family members, thus would like to grab this golden opportunity to learn the techniques as well as their family's recipe.

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized bitter gourd (sliced about 1/2" round)

1 medium-sized eggplant (sliced 1 1/2" diagonally, with a slit in the centre, but not cut through)

1 piece firm tofu (halved, into 2 triangles)

7 pieces fried bean-curd puffs (cut open on 3 sides, scrap off some tofu inside)

4 pieces ladies finger (slit one side vertically)

1 tbsp. cooking oil

1/2 tbsp. minced garlic

Dash of sesame oil

Parsley, chopped - to garnish (I did not add)

Fillings:

330 g. minced pork

100 g. minced prawns

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

3/4 tbsp. rice wine

3/4 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

3/4 tbsp. oyster sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. cornflour

Seasonings:  (mix together in a small bowl)

1 cup water

1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

1/2 tbsp. oyster sauce

Dash of salt (to taste)

1/4 tsp. chicken stock granules

Dash of ground white pepper

1 tbsp. cornflour

Methods:

• In a mixer bowl, add minced pork, prawns, parsley, rice wine, sugar, pepper, oyster sauce, salt and cornflour.  Use the beater of a stand mixer to mix using low speed until it becomes a sticky paste.  Remove into a bowl.

• Stuff the paste ingredients into the prepared bitter gourd, eggplant, firm tofu, ladies finger and fried bean-curd puff.  Prepare a small bowl of water, dip a small spoon into the water, the wet spoon can easily smooth the meat's surface.

• Deep-fry the stuffed ingredients, turn over until both sides golden.  Do not overcrowd the wok when frying.  I fry each items individually as it has the same frying time.

• Next, in a wok, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute garlic until fragrant, add in the seasonings.  Stir constantly until the color of the sauce becomes translucent.  Add in the chopped parsley, if using.  Finally, add in a dash of sesame oil and turn off heat.
• Arrange all the fried ingredients into a ceramic deep dish.  Pour over the cooked sauce.
• Heat a steamer using high heat; and when water is boiling, place the ceramic dish into the steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
• Remove from steamer and serve HOT!

Notes:

• I did not used all the fried stuffed ingredients  for the final step of steaming, as I only need to make for 2 servings.
• The rest of the fried-stuffed ingredients are stored in airtight container and kept in the fridge for later use.

I adapted this recipe from Youtube - JC's Homekitchen, with slight adjustments to suit my cooking preference.