Mdm Eileen Chin has been cooking since she was a child. It used to be a chore that fell upon her, just as it would have on the daughters of other Chinese families, but after she got married, Mdm Chin gladly did it for her husband and three kids. One of her specialties is Hakka Yong Tau Fu – a variety of bean curds, like tofu and tau pok, stuffed with a mixture of minced meat and fish paste. The 60-year-old learnt the dish from her mother, who made it on every Chinese New Year’s eve. On that day, the employees at her father’s medicinal hall would join them for reunion dinner.

During the sixties, it was common for the towkays to show appreciation to their employees by treating them to a dinner. There were hundreds of beancurds to prepare, and Mdm Chin was made to stuff the meat into every one of them. Until today, Yong Tau Fu reminds her of this dreadful chore. But there was one Yong Tau Fu making session that was particularly memorable for Mdm Chin. Leading up to the festive period, her family would receive many cans of abalone as gifts. One year, her housemaid got creative with the expensive ingredient. She stuffed the remaining fillings between two slices of abalones and steamed them. They were, as it turned out, “impossible to chew”. Mdm Chin and her sister threw away the abalone and ate only the minced meat. “We got into serious trouble with our mother,” she said.

Nowadays, Mdm Chin hardly cooks Yong Tau Fu as it takes at least three hours to get it done. Besides, there’s no one at home to eat it. Now that her daughters are married and her son hardly comes home to eat after work, she has switched from cooking three dishes and one soup for dinner to the time-saving grilled chicken with salad. Yong Tau Fu is only made upon special request, not by anyone, but her children.

Yong Tau Foo filling
Chinese dried mushrooms X 8 pieces
Water Chestnut X 8 pieces, diced
Minced pork X 700g
Fish paste X 500g
Fish sauce X 3 tbsp
Pepper X 2 tbsp
Oyster sauce X 4 tbsp
Salt X 2 tsp

Sole fish/ Tik poh X 12 pieces, each about 10cm long and 5cm wide.
Soak the mushrooms in cold water. Dice when they have softened.
Deep fry the tik poh till it turns golden brown. Leave it to cool then break it into powder form.
Mix the tik poh and all the other ingredients together.

Bean curds
Tofu X 10, slice diagonally into half
Tau pok X 15, slice diagonally into half
Tofu skin

Stuff the filling into the Tau pok. Using a spoon, dig a little hole in the tofu and stuff about a spoonful of filling into it.
Lay the tofu skin on the table. Scoop about two spoonfuls of filling and lay it on one end of the tofu skin, leaving about 2cm of distance from the sides. Fold in the tofu skin and roll. Dip some egg white or water on the tip of the tofu skin to seal the roll.
Steam the beancurds in batches. Tofu takes about  7-10 mins Tau pok takes about 15 mins (since it carries more filling)
Deep fry the tofu skin until it turns golden brown

Stock
Soy beans 100g
Cuttlefish head X 10 or whole palm size cuttlefish X 2
Cabbage X 1

Rinse the soy beans with water.
Soak the cuttlefish in cold water until it softens. Wash the cuttlefish.
Wash the cabbage.
Add soy beans and cuttlefish into a pot of water and bring to boil. Allow it to simmer for 2 hours. Add the cabbage into the stock, and also the bean curds when you are ready to eat.