In a delicious and simple vegetarian dish, the key is to use XO sauce to amplify the flavors. When XO sauce is directly added to soup and cooked, its freshness quickly dissipates. But when stuffed into tofu, it not only retains the freshness but also allows the tofu to quickly absorb the flavors. The spicy broth cooked with fermented black beans, fresh ginger, and dried chili peppers meets the XO sauce, creating a rich and flavorful soup with layers of freshness and spiciness, perfect when paired with steamed white rice.
1/4 cup dried black fermented soybeans
2 dried chili peppers
1 small piece of fresh ginger with skin
1 pound medium-firm tofu
XO sauce to taste
First, finely chop the ginger and chili peppers together and mix them with the soaked fermented soybeans, spreading them at the bottom of a pot.
Then, use a fork to create a crisscross pattern on the tofu, cut it into small cubes along the pattern, and place it on top of the fermented beans.
Next, sprinkle a small amount of XO sauce on each tofu cube and gently press the sauce into the center of the tofu with the tip of a chopstick.
Add water to the pot, ensuring that the tofu is not completely submerged. Cook on the porridge setting of a rice cooker for 1 hour.
Cooking tip: Using a fork to score the tofu creates a porous structure around it, allowing it to absorb more broth and flavor.
This savory dish combines the earthy taste of fermented soybeans, the heat from chili peppers, the freshness of ginger, and the depth of XO sauce, creating a delightful and complex soup that will tantalize your taste buds. Enjoy it with a bowl of steaming white rice for a truly satisfying meal.