Cold Century Egg Tofu

I need to slip in a cold dish recipe that is perfect for hot weather before summer days are officially over.

If you haven't heard of it before, the century egg is a Chinese invention made by preserving duck's eggs for several months (not for 100 years, despite its name). There's a rumor that the eggs are preserved in horse urine but that's bullshit (pun intended :-)) ....  the truth is these eggs are preserved in clay.

Admittedly, century eggs are an acquired taste. I love it and the Chinese eat it a lot - on its own, in porridge and apparently, this cold tofu dish is very popular in Taiwan, and the Japanese serve something similar called Hiyayakko.

I filed this under 30 minute meals but it will take you about 15 minutes max, to prep, serve and plate this dish, it's very simple. If you're Chinese or adventurous, it's yummy. If you're neither, I guess you'll have to take my word for it :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 silken tofu
• 2 century eggs (diced)
• 2 Tbsp Pork floss*
• Spring onions, chopped (as garnish)
• Cilantro (as garnish)
• Toasted Sesame seeds (as garnish)

Seasoning:

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1. Slice cold silken tofu into half, so that each slice is about 1/2 inch thick (see picture above) and plate it.
2. Place century egg evenly on tofu.
3. Sprinkle pork floss* evenly on tofu.
4. Pour seasoning over tofu and add garnish (spring onions, cilantro, sesame seeds).

* Can be optional. I think the sweetness of pork floss adds nicely to balance the flavors. The only reason why we didn't have it in the picture is because half of my family liked pork floss and the other half objected to it, so we eventually left it out!