This delicious stuffed tofu recipe comes courtesy of the Hakka, a community in China responsible for a particularly fragrant, umami-heavy style of cuisine. Cubes of tofu are stuffed with minced pork and prawns, seasoned with soy sauce and steamed to perfection.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g firm tofu
• 4 Tbsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• Coriander
• 3 Tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce

Stuffing:

• ½ cm-long knob of ginger
• ½ spring onion
• 1 handful of coriander
• 100g pork mince
• 100g raw prawns
• 1 Tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce
• ½ Tbsp Shaoxing wine
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 pinch of ground white pepper
• 1 Tbsp cornflour

PREPARATION

Finely chop the ginger, the ½ spring onion and the coriander. Mince up the prawns into a paste with a cleaver. Massage all the stuffing ingredients together well in a mixing bowl.

To combine the stuffing well, scoop up the filling from the mixing bowl in a cupped hand and throw the mix back into the bowl. This not only tenderises the meat, but will push any air out of the mix, creating a smooth finish when biting into the meat. Repeat this process 5–6 times to tenderise the mix and combine well.

Slice the tofu into 4x4x2cm squares. Carefully scoop out a ‘crater’ in the middle of each square of tofu and lightly dust with cornflour (roughly a ¼ tsp of cornflour will be sufficient for each square).

Fill each tofu crater carefully with 1 heaped teaspoon of your stuffing mix. Any excess stuffing can be rolled into small meatballs and steamed alongside the tofu so there's nothing wasted.

Set up a steamer over a pan of simmering water. Place the tofu squares on a heatproof plate or other surface that can fit into the steamer, then steam over a high heat for 10 minutes.

Once the tofu is cooked, heat the vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat and bring to smoking point. Once smoking hot, scatter the finely sliced spring onion and a little coriander onto the tofu squares and pour the hot oil over the top.

Season generously with Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce and serve hot.