Teochew Braised Tofu

Do allow me to introduce you another delicious local dish. This kind of braised tofu is available almost every corner of Chinese food stalls all around Malaysia. It's normally come together with hard boiled eggs and meat. The origin of this Teochew braised cuisine is basically cooking with loads of spices & seeds together with duck, egg & tofu. But still I love the most is the braised tofu. I have tasted quite a number of it and found that almost different stalls serve different versions. Some salty & some sweet! And I love the sweet ones the most.

So, here's my very own version.

Ingredients :
4 pcs  fried tofu (do not use Japanese tofu)
3-1/2 cups  water
1  cinnamon stick
2  star anise
3  cloves pot
2  cardamom seeds
1 tspn  sichuan pepper

Seasoning :
1-1/2 tbsp  vegetarian oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp  light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp  dark soy sauce
1 tbsp   sugar (or to your taste)

Method :
(1) preheat a non-stick small pot with a little oil and then stir in cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamon pot, seeds & sichuan pepper. Saute till fragrant.
(2) now, add in water & all the seasonings and bring it to boil.
(3) add in fried tofu and simmer for about 15-20 mins or till gravy became thickened.

This kind of tofu goes perfectly delicious especially with chicken rice. While I love having it together with noodles or vermicelli for brunch. Hmmm...mm...simply amazing!