Preserved Eggs, aka Thousand Year Old Eggs, can be a challenging food for Westerners. But if you think about it, it's kinda like cheese in the egg world. It's got a really distinct flavor - once you get over the look of the eggs, you will fall in love with it! This is a very common cold dish that Taiwanese love. Whenever you see it in a restaurant, the preserved egg is typically served on top of a brick of soft tofu, then everyone dig and scoop with their own spoons trying to get the tofu, the sauce, and the preserved eggs all in one spoonful. It's never pretty, ha! So I got creative, cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes, and then evenly distributed everything on top, so it doesn't get as messy when people dig in. This way, everyone gets a perfectly balanced spoonful of everything! Of course, I didn't stop there. I added a secret ingredient to give it extra flavor and texture...something subtle, but that will surely delight!
Normal Tofu with Preserved Eggs you see in a restaurant
ChiaChia's Preserved Eggs with Tofu
Ingredients:
- Preserved Eggs x 2-3
- Soft Tofu x 1
- Green Onions x 2 tbsp (Finely chopped)
- Light Soy Sauce x 3 tbsp
- Fish Floss x 2 tbsp (optional)
- Sweet Chili flavored with Szechuan Pepper (Optional) :
- Sweet Chili x 4-6 (aka Manganji Green Pepper)
- (The more the merrier, sometimes I use up to 8-10)
- Oil x 2 tbsp
- Szechuan Pepper x 1 tbsp
- Salt x 1 tsp
Recipe:
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To make the Sweet Chili flavored with Szechuan Pepper, prepare a small non-stick pan. Put in oil and Szuechuan pepper while the pan and oil is cold. Turn the heat up to medium low. Slowly heat up the oil and Szechuan pepper for 3-5 minutes until you see the sizzle and smell the fragrance of the Szechuan pepper. Stir and watch the pan the whole process. Then take out the Szechuan pepper with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat up to medium high, put in sweet chili and salt, sautee for 1-2 minutes. Take it out, let it cool.
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Cut the soft Tofu into small bite-sized cubes and put on a serving plate.
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Evenly spread the Flavored Sweet Chili (#1) on top of the Tofu.
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Peel and cut the Preserved Eggs into smaller pieces. Lay on top of the Flavored Sweet Chili.
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Sprinkle some green onions on top.
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Drizzle light soy sauce on top the whole dish.
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Garnish with some Fish Floss on top and serve!
