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You are here: Home / Asian Tofu / Pan-Seared Egg Tofu “Scallops” with Sweet Chile Sauce Recipe

Pan-Seared Egg Tofu “Scallops” with Sweet Chile Sauce Recipe

January 2, 2012 By Andrea Nguyen 24 Comments

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pan-seared egg tofu with sweet chile sauce
Welcome to 2012! As you may know, I’ve been preoccupied with tofu. My obsession has mostly been with the kind made from soybeans – the typical stuff eaten by countless people in Asia and beyond. But “tofu” is also a generic term used to describe a wide range of jelled and solidified foods in the Chinese repertoire. For example, some Chinese cookbooks use “almond tofu” to denote the sweet almond–flavored dessert solidified with seaweed-based agar agar. (In the Viet mindset, that’s a type of thach/jelly.) Burmese tofu, also called Shan tofu, is made like polenta with ground beans and water. Japanese sesame tofu is delicate and divine; find out more about goma dofu from Just Hungry. 

Then there’s egg tofu that comes in a tube. It looks like a tiny torpedo and feels like a filled balloon in its plastic casing. Sold at Chinese markets, egg tofu is made with eggs and soymilk, with an eggy richness that prevails. Egg tofu is popular with my Taiwanese and Hong Kong friends, who enjoy it simply fried and bathed in sauce.

Unlike regular (all soybean-based) tofu, you don’t see tons of egg tofu at Asian markets. There would be tons of competition if it were a super popular food! In fact, the only brand that I’ve bought in Northern California comes from Canada:

egg tofu in package -- Mandarin brand
The label claims that Mandarin Soyfoods (owned by Sunrise Soya) is the original egg tofu maker. (Anyone know about that?)

If you see egg tofu at an Asian market, give it a whirl with a recipe like this one. My inspiration came from Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant, a dim sum hot spot in the Chinese-centric San Gabriel Valley/Monterey Park area east of downtown Los Angeles. We went there last week for lunch. The dumplings were well crafted but the standout dim sum dish of the day was deep-fried egg tofu with sweet chile sauce. 

The scallop-shaped pieces were custardy and savory, while the sauce was tangy-sweet with a touch of heat. We were so bowled over that I had to recreate when we got home. Funnily enough, yours truly did not have enough oil to deep-fry so I pan-seared the tofu instead – like you would a scallop. It turned out great and was super fast and easy to boot! 

RECIPE

Pan-Seared Egg Tofu Scallops with Sweet Chile Sauce

Serves 2 as a snack or side dish

One 8.64 ounce package egg tofu
About 1 tablespoon canola oil
About 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Thai Sweet Chile Sauce, homemade or store bought
1 tablespoon scallion rings, green part only

1. Cut the package on the dotted line and then remove the tofu from the plastic. Cut it into 1-inch-thick rounds.

egg tofu cut for cooking
Trim the uneven ends so they are more or less flat, which makes them easier to cook. Put on a double layer of paper towel to drain for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Heat a small nonstick skillet over high heat. Pour in enough oil to film the bottom. Blot the tofu pieces dry and then dip the cut ends in a bit of cornstarch.

Pan-fry the tofu for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Reduce the heat if the pan smokes.

While the tofu fries, put about 2 tablespoons of Thai sweet chile sauce on a small serving plate. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of the scallion rings on top.

When the tofu finishes pan-frying, transfer the pieces to the serving plate. Top with a little more sweet chile sauce and the leftover scallion. Serve immediately.

Familiar with Chinese egg tofu? What do you do with it? Or, how have you had it served?




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Filed Under: Asian Tofu, Recipes: All, Recipes: Appetizer and Snack, Recipes: Chicken, Duck, Eggs, Recipes: Chinese, Recipes: Fast and Easy, Recipes: Gluten-Free, Recipes: Tofu, Recipes: Vegetarian Tagged With: Asian tofu, Canadian tofu, Chinese egg tofu, egg tofu, egg tofu recipes, just hungry blog, Mandarin Soyfoods, Sunrise Soya, tofu dim sum recipes

« Farewell 2011, Hello Year of the Dragon!
Pan-Fried Cucumber with Red Perilla (Tia To) Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Debra Hartmann

    January 3, 2012 at 3:03 am

    Looks wonderful! Haven’t noticed egg tofu in the markets herer near Washington, DC but I’ll be on the lookout now. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Laura

    January 3, 2012 at 3:57 am

    Happy New Year! Nice to see you back. I’ve never had egg tofu, but I need to try it now and will look for it in my Asian market here in the Boston area.

    Reply
  3. super sale

    January 3, 2012 at 6:58 am

    Wow nice and looks very tasty. You bring water on my tongue.

    Reply
  4. Andrea Nguyen

    January 3, 2012 at 9:19 am

    Happy 2012! Hope you had a great holiday season.

    Reply
  5. Sun

    January 3, 2012 at 11:50 am

    This looked so good that I went straight to New May Wah on Clement Street (I’m in San Francisco) and picked up three packages. I too have never heard of egg tofu, and I’m thankful that I could show your picture on my phone of the package to the store employees because I don’t speak Chinese. I’m making this tonight –can’t wait!

    Reply
  6. wenders

    January 3, 2012 at 11:55 am

    Love tofu, and really love the egg tofu. Thanks for sharing this – it will be on my “try it out” list! Our go-to restaurant here in the northwest steams it with soy-based sauce, chopped up gai lan stems and char siu bits. Those are extras, we love the egg tofu, and usually order for each family dinner.

    Reply
  7. Nate @ House of Annie

    January 3, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    We like to do something similar with the egg tofu “scallops” and just top it with sauteed garlic.
    Here’s something more fancy that we did with the egg tofu: steamed and topped with ground pork and shrimp:
    http://www.houseofannie.com/steamed-egg-tofu-ground-pork-shrimp/

    Reply
  8. Amy

    January 3, 2012 at 7:31 pm

    This is so interesting…never seen the product, but what a good way to make “mock” scallops!

    Reply
  9. Diane

    January 5, 2012 at 10:29 am

    Never seen this! I will have to check out 99R to see if they have it.

    Reply
  10. maila

    January 9, 2012 at 12:54 am

    im still looking for these type of tofu here in chicago, since i’ve tried a delicious dish in chinatown which featured this tofu fried with salted egg batter. yummmm

    Reply
  11. Shirley

    January 14, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    How is this egg tofu different from the super soft/silky Korean tofu used in Soon Dobu and other stews? They look pretty similar from your pictures.

    Reply
  12. Andrea Nguyen

    January 20, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    Shirley, this texturally similar to regular silken tofu but it’s eggy in flavor. I’ve had it mostly cut and fried in some manner and then served with sauce. It has moisture like regular silken but the eggs allows it to brown very nicely.

    Reply
  13. Archana

    January 23, 2012 at 7:27 am

    I love egg tofu, it is very tasty. I fry mine as well – the only difference being i do not dip it in cornflour before shallpw frying – it still gets crispy!
    Andrea – I have always been a fan of your blog and now it looks like I will be buying one of your books as well!!!

    Reply
  14. Michelle

    January 29, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    Oh, I just saw some at 99 Ranch but didn’t know how to cook it. Gonna try this — it looks delish!

    Reply
  15. Jessica

    February 17, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    Wow, this sounds wonderful. What would be another good sauce for this, since I can’t eat spicy food?

    Reply
  16. Emily

    February 24, 2012 at 6:14 am

    I finally came across egg tofu two months after reading this post, and am so happy I did! That was awesome. Hope I find it again.

    Reply
  17. Emily

    February 24, 2012 at 6:15 am

    I didn’t use sauce for it since I ate it with a saucy stir fry (and was frankly just short on time), and it was solid on its own.

    Reply
  18. Andrea Nguyen

    February 26, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Awesome, Emily!

    Reply
  19. Andrea Nguyen

    February 26, 2012 at 11:39 am

    Sweet chile sauce isn’t that spicy so you may want to give it a tray. But otherwise, a little soy sauce and/or rice vinegar may work just fine. Or, ketchup and mayonnaise with black pepper?

    Reply
  20. Mr. Cooking Grill

    April 25, 2012 at 12:23 am

    yummy tofu! this is my favorite 🙂

    Reply
  21. marlon

    April 25, 2012 at 3:57 am

    Tofu is the food that i want to eat because it really taste delicious.

    Reply
  22. marlon

    April 25, 2012 at 4:38 am

    That tofu really tastes good!

    Reply
  23. Nickle

    May 21, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    Yummy! must appreciated by all 🙂

    Reply
  24. Korteztk

    March 11, 2013 at 10:53 am

    I am in awe of this recipe, and I am going to make it tomorrow. You are so creative

    Reply

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