I woke up. I ate. I yakked. I then ate. And I yakked again.
That was how my Chinese New Year had been, until earlier this week, when I dragged myself back to the office, and this vicious cycle was forcibly put to a stop.
|Home sweet home ...|
Oh, wait! I did more than that, didn’t I? (Pei-Lin isn’t that pathetic, anyway.) Let me recount the first days of my Chinese New Year:
I woke up. I ate. I yakked. I then baked. And I cooked. I ate. And I yakked again.
Ah, much better.
Now, I’m pretty sure most Chinese families around the world already had their reunion dinner. (If not, Pei-Lin would give you that searing look.)
In Chinese, we call this special occasion “團圓飯.” It’s pronounced in Cantonese as “TOO-yu-een YOO-een F-ahn,” or in Mandarin as “tuan yuan fan / t-ONE yoo-anne f-ahn.” Okay. Have I had you puzzled with phonetics? I hope not.
The reunion dinner — it’s a big thing. Every Chinese New Year’s Eve, my family never fails to put together a sumptuous spread of good food. Royal treatment for our tummies is not a must; it’s a guarantee.
Typical of a southern Chinese household, we emphasize on lavishness — or should I say greatness. These sinographs sum it up best: 大魚大肉, which loosely translate as “fish in profusion, meat in profusion.”
My mom served up her lotus rhizome and peanut soup (蓮藕花生湯), stir-fried leeks with shrimp and carrots (甘筍蒜炒蝦球), Teochew-style steamed fish (潮式蒸魚), and simple stir-fried shrimp in soy sauce (豉油蝦). I, on the other hand, cooked up some chicken curry, zesting it up with the woodsy cardamom and cinnamon. Pretty Malaysian, I’d say. (Alas, I was too tired to snap any picture.)
Oh, one more dish. Here:
|Oops! I used the wrong plate for this one. Too much sauce? *LOL*|
A poor man’s food served with grandeur. Say hi to the humble tofu, and its rich friend, XO sauce.
Sad to say, tofu by itself is nothing but blah. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to delve into that block of soft, white matter from a scientific point of view. But knowing that it does no evil to the body, and that it’s very affordable in this part of the world, I had this urge — the urge to fix something tofu-ish. It’d better be a snappy one, without compromising on the taste.
|Image courtesy of Konark Enterprises|
There, XO sauce came to my rescue, to imbue the tofu with its unique savory flavors. It’s a jumble of dried seafood like scallops and shrimp, red chili pepper, and spices. That said, it’s got to be rich — in flavor and cost (ouch!). As a matter of fact, it’s been a rich man’s food.
When opposites attract — when the bland meets the flavorful — wonders happen. I’m glad that tofu has found another soul mate, XO sauce, among others.
And the story goes, as the rich XO sauce brings out the humble tofu’s silken smoothness, and as the blah tofu tames down the burning passion of the XO sauce.
On a personal note, just a quibble of ours, we’ve dismissed the “extra hot” warning printed on the packaging. While ingesting XO sauce, we’ve yet to experience any of these symptoms: sweat, tears, sniveling, sniffling, and blushed cheeks.
Other than that, everything was 正 (“tzeh-ng” in Cantonese, meaning awesome)! After a rich flavor therapy, five poor hungry tummies were left filled to the brim.
Tofu With XO Sauce XO醬嫩豆腐
Adapted from “Hometown Delicious (sic)”** 改自《家味美餚》
* The recipe below is purely for reference. It’s recommended that you adjust things to taste. *
** I know it sounds odd, but don’t ask me about the book title. Personally, I think the English titles of many cookbooks and culinary periodicals from Malaysia and some other parts of Asia are worded inappropriately. More proofreading and editing perhaps? **
150 g silken tofu
Cooking oil – 1~2 tsp or adjust as necessary
4 shallots – thinly sliced
2 Tbsp dried shrimp 蝦米 – coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp freshly minced garlic
20 g Chinese sausage 臘腸 – thinly sliced
1 Tbsp XO sauce XO醬
1 Tbsp light soy sauce 生抽
- Here’s how you take care of the tofu. Either you drain it real well and consume it right out of the packaging without reheating (well, give it a gentle rinse if it looks dirty) — or, gently transfer the tofu into a dish (glassware, or some vessel of that sort) and steam over high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the steamer or wok or whatever that’s used to steam the tofu, and set side.
- For the topping: over medium heat, heat up some cooking oil in a wok or skillet. Once it’s hot enough, lower the heat to medium-low, and sauté the thinly sliced shallots till they smell aromatic and start to brown. Stir in (A), and continue to sauté everything till they are browned and smell absolutely great. Dish out and set aside. On the other hand, combine together (B).
- To serve, drain the steamed tofu and pour away the excess water — if you’d chosen to steam it earlier on. Then, spoon the sautéed mixture over the tofu, followed by the XO sauce. Dig in! I prefer mine not burning-hot, warm, or too cold. But this is an arbitrary thing anyway.