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Yong Tow Foo (also spelled as Yong Tau Fu) is a Malaysian Hakka dish which literally means stuffed tofu. It’s a local delicacy.
Traditionally, the stuffing is made of ground pork, but the recipe has evolved and now widely stuffed with fish paste. Yong Tow Foo is also not limited to tofu only, but a variety of tofu products such as tau pok or fried tofu puffs, tofu skin, as well as a variety of vegetables such as okras, red chilies, green chilies, eggplant, bitter gourd, and so on.
In this Yong Tow Foo recipe, I used fish paste (or fish meat emulsion) I bought from the Asian/Vietnamese market in the United States. The picture is shown below.
While the Yong Tow Foo dishes served in Malaysia are usually drenched in a clear and soupy broth, I prefer my Yong Tow Foo steamed, lightly pan-fried and topped with yellow bean sauce, a recipe I learned from my late mother.
So, without further ado, here is my recipe for Malaysian Yong Tow Foo or stuffed tofu, chili, and okra with fish paste.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 391 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Yong Tow Foo (Yong Tau Fu)
Ingredients
- 1 Cha Ca Fish Meat Emulsion
- 6 red chilies (deseeded)
- 6 okras / ladies fingers
- 10-12 fried tofu puffs
For fish paste seasoning:
- 1 stalk scallion (chopped)
- 1 red chili (deseeded and chopped)
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup water (stir well)
- 1 tsp corn starch
Instructions
- Clean the okras and red chilies with water and slit in the middle (for stuffing). Discard the seeds of the red chilies, pat dry with paper towels. For the fried tofu puffs, poke an opening at the top surface with your finger (for stuffing). Set aside.
- Add white pepper powder, sesame oil, chopped scallion and red chili into the fish emulsion and mix well.
- Stuff the fish paste into the red chilies, okras, and fried tofu puffs using a butter knife. Fill the inside with the red chilies, okras, and tofu puffs, but make sure that you do not over-stuff them.
- Place the stuffed ingredients on a plate and steam for 5 minutes.
- Pan-fried the steamed Yong Tow Foo lightly with some cooking oil. Dish up.
- Heat up some oil in a wok and stir-fry the chopped garlic until light brown or fragrant. Add the taucheo (yellow bean sauce) and do a quick stir. Add water and sugar. As soon as the sauce thickens, add the Yong Tow Foo into the wok and stir well. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Lovely! I somehow did not pay attention and pan fried first (with lid on) then added some water to steam. Also worked. Loved this with your other recipe for simplified dipping sauce. I served this as part of a dim sum dinner party but will have this for dinner – it is so easy and tasty
Awesome!