Salted fish, chicken and tofu claypot

Name: Salted fish, chicken and tofu claypot
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: Tofu 400 g; Chicken thigh 200 g; Salted fish 30 g; Dried shiitake mushroom 3; Fresh ginger 1 tsp; Garlic 2 cloves; Spring onion / scallion 2; Chilli a few slices; Light soy sauce 2 tsp; Sugar 1½ tsp; Cornflour 2 tsp; Oyster sauce 1 tbsp; Peppercorn, chiefly white a pinch; Sesame oil a few drops; Superior stock 180 ml; Cooking oil 3 tbsp

鹹魚雞粒豆腐煲

ClaypotTofuWeeknightFor guestsOne pot, one mealMediumhands-on 25 min · start to finish 40 min

“One pot does the whole dinner. The crust is yours.”

Ingredientsserves 4

街市Tofu· cloth-wrapped or firm tofu, in 2 cm cubes400 g

街市Chicken thigh· one thigh fillet, diced 1 cm200 g

百子櫃Salted fish· firm or soft grade, skinned, boned and finely diced30 g

百子櫃Dried shiitake mushroom· soaked and diced3

街市Fresh ginger· minced1 tsp

街市Garlic· minced2 cloves

街市Spring onion / scallion· chopped2

街市Chillia few slices

雜貨舖Light soy sauce· one for the marinade, one for the sauce2 tsp

雜貨舖Sugar· half for the marinade, one for the sauce1½ tsp

雜貨舖Cornflour· one for the marinade, one for the slurry2 tsp

雜貨舖Oyster sauce1 tbsp

百子櫃Peppercorn, chiefly white· ground white peppera pinch

雜貨舖Sesame oila few drops

雜貨舖Superior stock· or water180 ml

雜貨舖Cooking oil· a teaspoon for the marinade, two tablespoons to fry the salted fish3 tbsp

Method

Marinate the diced chicken with a teaspoon of light soy, half a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of starch and a teaspoon of oil for fifteen minutes. Blanch the tofu cubes one minute in salted water so they hold together, and drain; or pan-fry them golden if you prefer.
Fry the salted fish dice slowly in two tablespoons of oil over low heat until it smells and crisps at the edges; lift out half for the top. Salted fish is very salty, so do not salt the sauce before tasting.
Fry the ginger and garlic in the same fish-scented oil, then add the chicken and mushrooms and fry until the chicken turns white and is sealed.
Add the oyster sauce, the remaining soy and sugar, the white pepper and the stock; bring to the boil, add the tofu, lid on, low heat five minutes so the tofu takes the taste; the chicken must be cooked through, no pink when cut.
Thicken with the slurry, add the sesame oil, tip into a heated claypot, top with the spring onion, chilli and the reserved salted fish, lid on, one minute on high until it bubbles, and serve.

Take care

Contains fish (salted fish), soy (tofu, soy sauce) and wheat; oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster). The chicken must be cooked through. Salted fish is very salty, so taste before adding any salt.

The story

Salted fish, chicken and tofu is on every restaurant's claypot list, but its logic is a family's: a thumb of salted fish makes a block of tofu and a single chicken thigh taste of something. Salted fish was the winter protein of the Cantonese fishing villages, and the pairing with tofu is the thrifty cousin of the salted fish pork patty.

Same technique

Claypot rice with cured meats

Claypot rice with beef and egg

Claypot rice with chicken and mushroom

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.