Name: Hakka Stuffed Tofu (客家釀豆腐)
Yield: Serves 2–3 as a main course, 4–6 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Hakka
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold chicken stock; 1 teaspoon finely minced green and white scallion; 2 teaspoons thin (regular) soy sauce; 4 cakes fresh and firm Chinese-style tofu, each 3 inches square and 1½ inches thick (buy 5 or 6 cakes if they are smaller); ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1 cup rich, unsalted chicken stock; 1 rounded tablespoon dried shrimp; 1 tablespoon thin (regular) soy sauce; 1 medium whole scallion, cut into 1½-inch lengths and shredded lengthwise coarse kosher salt, to taste; 6–8 tablespoons corn or peanut oil, for pan-frying; 2 teaspoons fine julienne threads of fresh ginger, cut hair-thin; 6 ounces ground pork butt; 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger; sprigs of fresh coriander

Preparation info

Serves
2–3
as a main course .

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

Hakka means “guest people” in Chinese, and the name refers to a group of northern Chinese who were driven south in the wake of Tartar invasions in the fourth and ninth centuries and who re-established themselves in the mountainous regions of Canton and Fukien. To this day, the Hakka maintain a dialect, a way of dress, and a style of cooking that sets them apart from their southern neighbors. Hakka cooking, which is gutsier than Cantonese cooking and uses less oil and more pungent condiments