Black Eggs & Tofu

"To fu or not to fu"

Cold appetizer of silky tofu jelly and century eggs with a dressing of black vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds and coriander leaves. Served with pickled young ginger roses to cleanse and refresh the palate between bites.

This classic savory dish is made contemporary and elegant by using the Royal Selangor Pewter Jelliriffic! mould. My family loves cold tofu served this way, especially on a hot day. I thought of making silken tofu the traditional way, with coagulants such as calcium sulfate or citric acid but was worried that the tofu would be too soft to turn out, especially since the tip of the cone is rather narrow.

For most of my Jelliriffic agar recipes, I use 1 teaspoon of agar to 200 ml water to get a firm jelly. For this tofu jelly, I wanted a very soft jelly that could hold up its shape too. I made the first jelly with 1/2 teaspoon to 200 ml and the second jelly (we only have 2 moulds to work with) with 1/4 teaspoon to 200 ml. I like the second jelly better and will make another tomorrow and update the recipe if the jelly can keep its shape.

This is a simple but very yummy cold dish that you can make in a jiffy.It's great as a cold appetizer for a Chinese meal on a sizzling day.I bought the soya milk from the market but you can make your own for a richer taste and deeper flavor. Imagine your next Chinese-themed dinner party and a few of these tofu jellies as appet! izers...

A word about black eggs, better known ascentury eggs: they can be vile-tasting if you haven't eaten it before. But if you have, you belong to the group of people who know what the non-century egg eating people are missing.

So when tofu is made with agar, is it tofu or not tofu?

Peel and slice young ginger thinly (not paper thin; too soft), mix in white rice vinegar, sugar (I used brown sugar for a deeper color) and salt. To make roses, do not let ginger pickle for too long or it'll get too soft.

Black Eggs & Tofu
2 black eggs
some pickled ginger
3/4 to 1 tbsp Maggi soy sauce (to taste)
3/4 tbsp black vinegar
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
Garnish: toasted sesame seeds &coriander leaves/cilantro
200 ml fresh thick soy milk
1/4 tsp agar powder
1. Put 100 ml soy milk into a small pot and scatter the agar over. Leave 2 minutes to soften and swell. Put pot over a low flame and heat, stirring all the time, until milk begins to steam and bubbles form at the side of the pot. Remove and add the remaining milk. Pour into a rinsed Nick Munro mould and wh! en cool, put into fridge to set and chill. Chill at least 2 hours until very cold.
2. Turn tofu out onto a serving plate (drain any water away) and drizzle with the sesame oil, black vinegar and soy sauce. Arrange the ginger into rosettes, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and coriander leaves. Just before eating, cut the tofu (at the table) into chunks of about 1.5 to 2 cm and mix everything up.