Pi-Pa Beancurd

Beancurd shaped like a pipa and then steamed is food for the beautiful.

SILKY soft beancurd steamed witheggwhite and then gently poached again in a chicken broth with veg-etables – that sounds like healthyeating by any count.And if it so happens that this dish wasreputedly the favourite food of one ofChina’s most famous women, then there’sall the more reason to try it.

Xi Shi was one of the historical beau-ties of China and together with WangChaojun, Yang Yuhuan and Diaochan, wasrecognised as one of the Four GreatBeauties. One of Singapore’s newer heart-land housing estates – Simei (FourBeauties) – is named after them.Xi Shi’s homeland was in the kingdomof Yue, in what is now known as theHangzhou-Suzhou district, still famous forbeautiful women and picturesque scenery.Here, the spring waters run clear, cooland sweet and the beancurd made locally is known to be the best in the country.

Legend has it that Xi Shi loved doufu, andwhile she was in training as China’s firstfemale spy, she was pampered with a differ-ent doufu dish every day of the week.Pipa doufu, so called because it is shapedlike a pipa (a Chinese four-stringed lute),was supposedly her favourite.

The original recipe is all but lost, but theliterary records tell us the dish did exist. Soall we do now is apply a little imagination,and create a pretty story for a pretty dish.

The vegetarian option
RECIPE today is easy to adapt to a fully vegetarian dish. All you have to do is to skip the fish paste inthe doufu mixture and if you are vegan, drop the eggwhite.

Substitute that for one teaspoon cornflour added to the mashed doufu. This helps the mixture bind better and not fall apart.

Use a vegetarian stock to substitute for the chickenstock, and a tasty option will be to add a teaspoon of MAGGI® Seasoning – which is vegetarian but fullof flavour.

Or, add a tablespoonful of MAGGI® ShiitakeMushroom Vegetarian Oyster Flavoured Sauce.

Blend the sauce in a little water to dilute it andadd to pan liquid. You will see bits of mushrooms float-ing in the stock.

Add the vegetables as usual, but bea little more careful while you are sliding the doufu patties in.

They will be more fragile. Add more carrot slices – they will sweeten the soup further.

It’s very easy to create carrot “blossoms”. Use a cookie cutter to stamp out shapes on a round of carrot.

Remove the“rind” and carefully cut thin slices off the block. They will brighten up the dish considerably.


Steamed pipa doufu in chicken broth

Ingredients:(Serves 4 or more)

3 teaspoons MAGGI® Concentrated ChickenStock
2 teaspoons MAGGI® Shiitake Mushroom Vegetarian Oyster Flavoured Sauce
1 box silken tofu (doufu)
200gm fish paste1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 punnet honshimeiji mushroom, trimmed
Few slices of carrots for garnishing

Method:

1. Mash doufu and fish paste, add eggwhite.Season with a little MAGGI® ConcentratedChicken Stock and pepper.
2. Steam doufu mixture in Chinese spoons forfive minutes. While doufu is steaming, boil 1.5 litre water and add MAGGI®Concentrated Chicken Stock. Add broccoli,mushrooms and carrot slices.
3. Gently slide doufu off the Chinese spoonsand into the stock. Poach pipa doufu for twominutes.
4. Serve with a dipping platter of MAGGI®Shiitake Mushroom Vegetarian Oyster Flavoured Sauce.

Preparation time: 10 minutesCooking time: 10 minutes.
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Tried cooking pipa toufa in this style, turn up not bad...



Ingredients:
600 g silken beancurd
1 pc of egg
300g Fresh fishmeat
Oil for frying

Seasonings:
1/4 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda,
1/4 tsp pepper,
1/4 tsp double action baking powder,
1/2 tsp sugar,
150 ml water,
150 g self-raising flour

Method:
1. In a bowl, add in 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp soda powder, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp double action baking powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, 150 g self-raising flour, 1 Egg. Blend into a paste.

2. Add Water gradually.... slowly...at the same stir...leave it aside. Mash beancurd with a strainer, discard the balance thick beancurd. Add to the seasoning mixture with the mash beancurd. Blend well. Grease table spoon & put in the beancurd mixture & mould into Pi-Pa shape.

3. Warm the oil, then put in the spoon with the mixture, oil must not be too much.The Oil level must be almost the same level with the chinese table spoon. Once you see bubble on top of the spoon, take it up, then scoop up the mixture.

4. Overturn it then send for frying. Fry the beancurd until golden & drain the fat. It turn looks like oval shape, lookalike pipa. Dish up & serve.