A Pleasant Surprise - Cold Tofu with Peanut Butter Sauce Dressing
What’s your favorite cold dish? Cold dish usually reminds me cold crabs, cold soba noodles and the first dish in every Chinese wedding banquet. I wonder why the first dish is called the Cold Dish (冷盘) though some of the items in the dish consists of deep fried spring rolls, braised duck, etc.. and they are not really served chilled.
How about some peanut butter with cold tofu? This is a dish B often had when he was still staying with his family. It’s like a family dish. He calls it the 陈家私房菜 (The Chen’s Secret Recipes). So naturally, shortly after we got married, he promised to whip up some of his family’s ‘special’ dishes. And he made me waited for a good one and a half years before I got to savor this. Although along the way, he did cooked some other dishes like their Foochow Red Wine Chicken(红糟鸡), Mee Sua in Rich Hua Teow Wine Soup with Egg (蛋面线)… Wait… I think that’s about it!
His family seems to like peanut butter. He once made for me his regular lunch at home, peanut butter noodles. I was skeptical about the taste. And I didn’t quite stomach this well. The noodles was cloyingly dry with the peanut butter sauce. After a few mouthful, I said, “No, thanks. I’ll stick to my instant noodles.” And I happily slurped up my curry instant noodles. And that was the first time he cooked something for me. Okay, I know it’s my bad, but I couldn’t make myself chomp down the sticky dry noodles.
So how did the cold tofu with peanut butter sauce fare? Excellent!! Although my first try on the peanut butter noodles was pretty bad, but this definitely works for me. It’s really easy to make and comforting to eat. The ingredients and steps are simple. You can adjust the amount of seasoning according to your own taste bud. The below recipe is just a guide. If you prefer it to be more salty, then add more soy sauce. Like it more watery, add more hot water.
Cold Tofu with Peanut Butter Sauce Dressing
topped with Pork Floss and Century egg
Serves 2
1 silky tofu (standard size packed tofu from supermarket)
1 century egg (diced or cut into wedges)
2 tbsp pork floss
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
sesame oil
½ tbsp light soy sauce
½ cup of hot water
spring onion for garnish (optional)
Remove tofu from container and wash it clean under slow running water. Drain well and place it on a plate. Chill it in the refrigerator. You can prepare this half an hour ahead.
To prepare the dressing, mix peanut butter sauce with hot water. You can add the water bit by bit and stir until the desired consistency. Next, add light soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil. Taste and season according to your preferred taste.
Pour the peanut butter dressing over the tofu, topped with pork floss and century egg. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.
We loved to mash and mix up all the ingredients in the plate before tucking in. If you ever try making this dish, let me know how it goes for you.
