This crispy Salted Egg Tofu is my new favorite tofu recipe. The crispy tofu combined with the rich, savory salted egg is a match made in heaven. I had it for the first time at a Chinese restaurant for my brother-in-law's wedding reception and it was really tasty!
Another great salted egg recipe I have is this salted egg calamari. Give it a try!
What are salted egg yolks?
Salted egg yolks are a type of cured egg yolk. They are very rich in umami, and as the name implies, are quite salty. You can make them yourself at home, but I usually buy mine from the Asian grocery store since they can take a few weeks to cure. Here is the package I have:
How to prepare salted egg yolks?
Salted egg yolks are quite firm so you need to soften them beforehand. To do that, you can either microwave them for a few minutes or steam them for 20 minutes.
After softening, you have to either mash them with a fork or blend them in a food processor. I usually prefer the food processor because it gets the yolks into very tiny pieces and distributes them in the sauce more evenly. In the picture below, I have used a food processor to chop up the egg yolks and you can see that they have almost become a powder.
Deep-frying vs. air-frying tofu
The method of cooking here is totally up to you, but in my testing, deep-frying makes the skin much crispier (and thicker too). Also, I found that the air-fried tofu needed to be cooked much longer to get crispy, and as a result, they got much dryer on the inside. They also shrunk a bit.
Here is a picture of the deep-fried tofu:
Make sure your oil is very hot, at least 400°F. I found the skin does not form properly if you fry lower than this.
Here is the air-fried tofu:
I air-fried them at 400°F for 10 minutes on each side. I found them to be slightly chewier rather than crispy. But if you want to cook with less oil, these are still a decent option.
Salted Egg Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 pound package firm or extra-firm tofu
- 5 salted egg yolks
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon MSG (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into 1-inch by 2-inch rectangular cubes. Place them on a kitchen towel then place another towel on top. Let the moisture drain out for about 20 minutes.
- Place the salted egg yolks in a steaming dish and steam for 20 minutes.
- Blend the yolks in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Deep-fry the tofu at 400°F* for 4-5 minutes or spray with oil and air-fry at 400°F for 10 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the salted egg yolks, sugar, salt, and MSG if using. Cook for 1 minute. Add the tofu and toss to coat.
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