Thanks to mom who gotten me the hotplate so that I can finally cook up the sizzling Hotplate Tofu at home ! It has been on my to-do-list for the longest time as the thought of the sizzling oil that splurts from the hotplate was just intimidating enough to pull me back every time I wanna prepare this. But it wasn’t that bad after all, the sizzling was there, but manageable and didn’t really mess up my kitchen too much either.
Furthermore, the hotplate that I had was a pretty mini one as compared to the zhi char stalls, hence all was fine and good ! The probable setback was that I had forgotten to marinate the minced meat with some corn flour prior to cooking, hence it didn’t turn out as smooth as it had intended to be.
As you know, the hob and flame that we had from home is never as fiery hot as the one at commercial stalls or restaurant. So to be able to cook up commercial dishes using the humble stove-top at home is nevertheless quite an achievement. Furthermore, without the use of MSG or other preservatives ingredients, our home cooked dishes are just as awesome as any is another achievement unlocked.
So do not worry if you do not have a “fire” that is as hot as commercial stalls and not be able to serve up the “wok-taste” as them. In my opinion, despite the lack of such facilities, our home cooked dishes can still be good as theirs because we use good wholesome ingredients and we prepared them with delicacy !
And all of such ingredients can be found on PurelyFresh as well, the online store that provides the freshest groceries that has been carefully selected for us with much care, just like how we would prepare our home-cooked foods that are meant for our loved ones !!
Now this all-time favorite zhi char dish is now my favorite in the house too, after having known it’s not that tough to pull it off at home after all ! Do grab your hotplate and start sizzling tofu too !! Enjoy !!
- 150g-200g minced meat (chicken/pork)
- some baby corn (cut into halves)
- some shitake mushrooms, sliced
- ½ carrot, sliced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 pieces of egg tofu, sliced
- 2 eggs, beaten
- some cooking oil
- some spring onion, chopped (for garnishing)
- For the Minced Marinate:
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 tsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
- For the Sauce:
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp hot chili bean paste
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp chicken powder
- 150ml water
- For the Thickening Solution:
- 1 tbsp corn flour mixed with 2 tbsps water
- Marinate the minced meat with the marinate ingredients and keep it chilled in the fridge for at least 2 hours or more.
- Prepare a wok with some cooking oil for deep frying the tofu. Cut the egg tofu as per instructions on the packaging into 1 cm thickness. Do not wash the tofu or soak the tofu in water. Deep fried them in the hot oil right after cutting. (You can check whether the oil is hot enough by placing a chopstick into the oil and bubbles start to sizzle around it.)
- Dish and drain the tofu after they turn golden brown on both sides.Set aside.
- Prepare a wok with ½ tbsp cooking oil and stir fried the minced garlic till fragrant. Add the baby corns, carrots and mushrooms, Stir fried till they turn soft. Add the marinated minced meat and sauce respectively.
- Stir till the minced meat changes color from pinkish to cooked. Add in the thickening solution. Continue to stir till the sauce is thickened and off the flame.
- Prepare the hotplate now by placing it directly over the flame (make sure your hotplate is one that can be placed over naked flame directly!). Add 1 -2 tsp of cooking oil and use a pastry brush to coat the oil all over the hotplate. When the oil starts to sizzle, add in the beaten eggs.
- When the eggs is already half cooked, placed the deep fried tofu from Step 3 over the eggs. Add the vegetables, minced meat and sauce from Step 4-5 into the hotplate now. Fill up the hotplate and let it sizzle for another 10 seconds before turning off the flame. Garnish with chopped spring onion as desired and serve hot.
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