So called this is a sandwich, but the spread is neither mayonnese with egg nor butter with ham, instead it is ground beef filled in tofu slices. Making the fried sandwiches is more or less the same as usual sandwiches only that the tofu have to be coated by egg wash and cooked by pan frying.
For this recipe, I had taken some ugly pictures before which once made me turn off this post. When I come to prepare this dish again, I follow a strategy in mind that I should cook only a portion of the ingredients ahead of our meal. Doing so, I need not rush to cope with the dinner as well as to quickly complete taking a few shots while the dish is still hot. What a simple issue yet I haven’t realized it in the first place!
Previously I picked one picture between two. This time, I short-list five among the thirty shots but am still hesitated on which NOT to show. Greedily, here comes two of them (top one and below). So choices do matter, right?
- Ingredients
- 4 pcs firm tofu ~400g
- 50g ground beef
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 to 1 tsp soy or fish sauce depending on the dipping sauce used
- Seasonings for beef
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oil
- some finely chopped spring onion
The fried sandwiches are to be served hot with dipping sauces like vinegar, soy sauce, chilli sauce, sweet-and-sour sauce. If the dipping sauce you choose is not salty at all, then it is better to add in a little bit more soy or fish sauce in the egg wash.
Method
Season beef and mix well. Pat dry tofu, and cut them into slices (about 1 cm) of either rectangular or triangular shape, but every two pieces should come in pair. To make the tofu surface sticky to the filling, sprinkle some corn starch on them, then, similar to making sandwiches, evenly spread a thin layer of the minced beef on one piece of tofu and cover it with another one. Give a light press to make sure the tofu glued well with the meat.
Beat egg and add in soy or fish sauce. Dust on sandwiched tofu a thin layer of corn starch and bath it in the beaten egg. As soon as a tofu sandwich is coated with the corn starch and egg wash, do fry them IMMEDIATELY. Or, the coating will be diluted by water exuded from the tofu.
Heat about four table spoons of oil in a wok or skillet over low heat and fried the tofu until golden brown. Using this pan frying method should require several careful turns of the tofu to ensure every surface is evenly fried. Serve hot with your preferred dipping sauce(s). For most of the time, my choice is just to sprinkle ground sea salt and chili powder on the fried tofu. Enjoy.