PREPARATION METHOD FOR EGG TOFU WITH NAI BAI (10 min)
In a basin of water, add some salt, put in the Nai Bai to soak for 1 min. Wash and discard the water. Subsequently wash the Nai Bai 2 more times and drain.
Cut off the brown and woody part of the enoki mushroom about 3 cm from the base and discard. Quickly rinse the enoki mushroom under a running tap and place in a colander to drain dry. Separate them from the main cluster.
Remove the skin from the garlic and chop finely.
Use a sharp knife to cut the egg tofu roll into half at the centre (where the dotted line is) with the plastic intact.
Squeeze the egg tofu out of the plastic with your fingers holding both ends and cut into 1.5 cm thickness. Gently pat dry with a paper towel.
Place the cornflour on a plate and coat the tofu and shake off the excess flour and set aside.
COOKING METHOD FOR EGG TOFU WITH NAI BAI (20 min)
In a wok, heat up 200ml of oil over medium heat. When the oil bubbles, add in the coated egg tofu to fry.
Gently flip the egg tofu over a few times until golden colour (about 3-4 mins). Fry the tofu in batches of 3-5. Do not overcrowd the wok.
Transfer tofu to a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.
Remove the oil from the wok. Pour in 1 litre of boiling water in the wok, add a pinch of salt and a tsp of oil and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once the water is boiling, add in the Nai Bai and blanch for 2 mins. Then arrange the Nai Bai on a serving plate. Discard the water from the wok and dry it.
Heat up 2 TBsp of oil in the wok and add in chopped garlic and fry till aromatic.
Add in the enoki mushrooms and fry for 1 min.
Add in a pinch of salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 TBsp of oyster sauce, 200 ml of water and 1 TBsp of sake and continue to fry until the mushrooms are soft.
Lastly, stir in the cornflour to thicken the gravy.
Place the fried egg tofu on top of the Nai Bai and pour the enoki mushroom and gravy over the egg tofu. Serve hot.
Notes
For deep-fried tofu, you must get the egg tofu. Plain silken tofu will not turn golden and crispy and it tends to disintegrate easily.
Coating the egg tofu with cornflour not only make it crispy, but also prevents the oil from splattering during the frying process.
You will need to shake off the excess flour before frying, otherwise the loose flour on the outer layer will fall out and gets burnt causing the oil to turn black, making the tofu black as well.
Pick the enoki mushrooms that are firm and white. Once they are discolored, limped or slimy they have already turned bad. and have a foul smell.
Do not soak the enoki mushrooms in the water. They are generally quite clean and just need to have a quick rinse under the tap. If soak too long in the water,they will retain lots of water and the frying pan will be flooded during the cooking process.
Fresh and firm enoki mushrooms can be kept refrigerated in a paper bag for up to 8 days.