Mai

This may be the BEST way to make tofu… Look no further than this fried tofu with salted egg sauce if you need an easy recipe that will wow your family and friends. The fried tofu is crunchy and the garlicky salted egg sauce is incredibly flavorful.

The salted duck egg is an incredible ingredient used in several Asian cuisines- including Vietnamese. The golden yolk, in particular, has a phenomenal umami taste that is rich, fatty, and creamy.

I grew up eating hard boiled salted eggs with cháo – Vietnamese rice congee, and salted egg yolks in moon cakes. As a kid, I never liked savory mooncakes, so I would always try to sneak off with the egg yolk and leave the rest.

You can buy salted duck eggs in most Asian grocery stores, but they are also very easy to make at home. I like making my own and adding spices to the brine to give the eggs some lovely extra flavors- check out our recipe for this here.

This recipe is for fried tofu, but you can use salted egg yolks in this way with many other proteins: shrimps, sea snails, calamari, wings, and my favorite- soft shell crabs.

INGREDIENTS FOR ĐẬU CHIÊN SỐT TRỨNG MUỐI

• Tofu – Đậu phụ/hũ: Firm or soft tofu will both work, depending on your texture preference. Soft tofu will be more fragile and a little more difficult to work with. My preference for this dish is firm. Silken tofu is too soft and will not work.
• Tapioca starch – Bột năng: This will create a crispy layer around your tofu, which will also help the sauce stick to the tofu. For other recipes using tapioca starch, click here.
• Salted eggs – Trứng muối: An incredible ingredient used in several Asian cuisines- including Vietnamese. The golden yolk, in particular, has a phenomenal umami taste that is rich, fatty, and creamy. You will most commonly find salted duck eggs, rather than chicken- this is likely because the yolks in duck eggs are larger. In Asian stores, you can likely find whole salted duck eggs sold in cartons like regular eggs or just the yolks in vacuum-sealed refrigerated packages. I like making my own and adding spices to the brine to give the eggs some lovely extra flavors- check out our recipe for this here.
• Garlic – Tỏi
• Butter – Bơ
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: Think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
• Herbs – Rau thơm: Green onion (Hành lá), Vietnamese/Thai basil (Húng quế), cilantro (ngò rí/rau mùi) for garnish

DIRECTIONS FOR ĐẬU CHIÊN SỐT TRỨNG MUỐI

1. If you have whole salted eggs, the first method is to hard boil them whole for 12 minutes, let cool, then scoop out the yolks. The whites can be eaten with cháo or mashed up and placed on toast, drizzled with a little honey!
   The second method is to separate the yolks from the whites while raw, then steam the yolks for 10 minutes or microwave covered on high for 1-2 minutes. This applies to pre-separated yolks that you can buy from some Asian grocery stores too. The raw egg whites are great for fried rice.
   Once cooked, add the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork.
2. Pat dry tofu and cut into bite-sized cubes.
3. Pour tapioca starch into a bowl or deep plate, roll tofu cubes to cover all sides.
4. In a large frying pan or pot, add enough vegetable oil for a layer about 2 cm deep. Heat oil on medium until it bubbles around a wooden chopstick or spatula.
5. Add tofu cubes in a single layer, leaving some space between pieces. Because of the tapioca starch, the tofu pieces will be sticky at first before they become crispy.
6. Fry on medium, turning the pieces every minute or so, until all sides are golden and crispy. Remove tofu to a paper-lined plate or wire rack to drain excess oil.
   Optional: After a few minutes, you can return the tofu to the pot and double fry for extra crispiness.
7. Mince garlic
8. Heat a pan over medium and add 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil.
9. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
10. Add the mashed salted egg yolks into the pan. Mash the yolks some more with a spatula until you get a crumbly paste.
11. Add butter to pan and stir to melt. You should now have a thick sauce. Taste the sauce and add bouillon if needed- this will depend on the saltiness of your egg yolks.
12. Add fried tofu cubes to the pan and stir/toss to coat every piece with the sauce, then remove from heat.
13. Garnish with diced green onions and Vietnamese/Thai basil or cilantro.

RECIPE VIDEO

Coming soon!

Đậu chiên sốt trứng muối

Course: Appetizers, MainCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Easy

Makes

2

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Deliciously crispy pieces of tofu coated in a decadent umami salted egg yolk sauce.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 500 g 500 tofu (see Note)

• 40 g 40 tapioca starch

• 3 3 salted eggs

• 15 g 15 garlic

• 30 g 30 butter

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon powder

• Vegetable oil

• Herbs for garnish (Green onion, Vietnamese/Thai basil, cilantro)

Directions

• If you have whole salted eggs, the first method is to hard boil them whole for 12 minutes, let cool, then scoop out the yolks.
  The second method is to separate the yolks from the whites while raw, then steam the yolks for 10 minutes or microwave covered on high for 1-2 minutes. This applies to pre-separated yolks that you can buy from some Asian grocery stores too.
  Once cooked, add the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork.
  See Notes for salted egg whites.
• Pat dry tofu and cut into bite-sized cubes.
• Pour tapioca starch into a bowl or deep plate, roll tofu cubes to cover all sides.
• In a large frying pan or pot, add enough vegetable oil for a layer about 2 cm deep. Heat oil on medium until it bubbles around a wooden chopstick or spatula.
• Add tofu cubes in a single layer, leaving some space between pieces. Because of the tapioca starch, the tofu pieces will be sticky at first before they become crispy.
• Fry on medium, turning the pieces every minute or so, until all sides are golden and crispy. Remove tofu to a paper-lined plate or wire rack to drain excess oil.
  Optional: After a few minutes, you can return the tofu to the pot and double fry for extra crispiness.
• Mince garlic
• Heat a pan over medium and add 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil.
• Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the mashed salted egg yolks into the pan. Mash the yolks some more with a spatula until you get a crumbly paste.
• Add butter to pan and stir to melt. You should now have a thick sauce. Taste the sauce and add bouillon if needed- this will depend on the saltiness of your egg yolks.
• Add fried tofu cubes to the pan and stir/toss to coat every piece with the sauce, then remove from heat.
• Garnish with diced green onions and Vietnamese/Thai basil or cilantro.

Notes

• Tofu: Firm or soft tofu will both work, depending on your texture preference. Soft tofu will be more fragile and a little more difficult to work with. We used firm. Silken tofu is too soft and will not work.
• Salted egg whites: If you use the first method and hard boil the whole eggs, the whites can be eaten with cháo or mashed up and placed on toast, drizzled with a little honey! If you use the second method, the raw salted egg whites are great for fried rice.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @mmbonappetit on Instagram