This is a super easy egg and tofu recipe which can be finished in one pot and developed from the famous Mapo tofu. Tender and savory tofu with egg. I meet this newly invented recipe at one local restaurant. Wow, this is a new world. The tofu is so tender and so delicious with the sauce. There are lots of variations of this dish, you can substitute this sauce with sweet and sour sauce, kung pao sauce, Yu xiang sauce or any other chili sauce you love. You will get unbelievably soft and tender tofu with savory sauce.
When the tofu is wrapped with eggs, which helps to hold the flavors, this presents a similar feel to mapo tofu.
Cook’s Note
Soft tender tofu is hard to take out. If you want to keep the shape, use a small knife and separate the edges of the package. Take a plate and cover it over the package. Turn it over and then cut small holes in the two diagonal corners. Blow some air in, then the package can be removed easily.
Instructions
Whisk egg liquid well. And combine all the ingredients for the sauce together.
Heat oil in a pan until really hot, and pour the egg liquid in. Add tofu slabs when the egg liquid's top layer is still running. So the egg will coat the tofu.
Pour the sauce in and add another ½ cup of water.
Slow down the fire and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some chopped fresh chili and coriander on top.
Other lovely tofu recipes
Mapo tofu
Steamed tofu
Yu Xiang tofu
Salt and pepper tofu
Tofu soup with Bok Choy
One Pot Egg and Tofu
Ingredients
- 5 eggs , whisked
- 1 box silken tofu or soft tofu
- coriander , cut into sections
- fresh peppers , cut into circles
- ½ cup water
Sauce
- 2 tbsp. hot garlic sauce , homemade instruction or other chili sauce
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- ¼ sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground pepper
- 2 tbsp. water
Instructions
- Whisk egg liquid well. And combine all the ingredients for the sauce together.
- Heat oil in a pan until really hot, pour the egg liquid in. Add tofu slabs in when the top layer of the egg liquid is still running. So the egg will coat the tofu.
- Pour the sauce in and add another ½ cup of water.Slow down the fire and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some chopped fresh chili and coriander on top.
- Serve hot!
Denny
This looked so good, I had to try. The thought of making the hot garlic sauce was too much, replaced the 2 tbsp of hot garlic sauce with 1 tbsp of Lao Gan Ma pickled chili & 1 tbsp of Lao Gan Ma chili oil with fermented soybeans, upped the sugar to compensate for the pickled chili, and topped the finished dish with both the recommended cilantro and scallions. The result was saucy, delicious and on the table in less than 15 minutes.
Elaine
Thanks for your lovely information. Using Lao Gan Ma is a lovely idea.
Radek
and these fresh peppers , cut into circles are what for?
colleen
Many thanks for your always delicious recipes! A little 'trick' i use to remove the soft tofu from the package: Turn upside down on a plate (I use my flattened palm:), make a small snip with kitchen shear on the edge of the package, in goes the air out comes the tofu!
Elaine
Thanks for your lovely reminding. That's really a useful tip.
Denny
I made this twice in 3 days. So good! The first time I used soft tofu. The second time, I used Korean style "soon dobu" which is super soft, the type used in Korean tofu soup. I decreased the eggs to 3 because the package of soon dobu is smaller than a normal package of soft/silken tofu and used an 8" non-stick pan. It was good the first time but fantastic the second time. It's so savory, luscious and comforting without being heavy. Like mapo tofu but faster and easier.
Elaine
Thanks Denny. Yes, super soft tofu or silken tofu is the best for this one. I love the aroma of egg on the edges of the tofu so much too!!! Thank you for this encouraging comment.
Afra
Just had this for lunch with some cauliflower rice and loved it! I used toban djan chili bean sauce. I will certainly have this again - great find!
Elaine
Thanks Afra for your lovely feedback.
Eve
This is one of my new favourite recipes! My husband and I loved it so much, I made it again for lunch the very next day. It is so, so good. I made your garlic sauce to go with it. I saw someone mentioned they just used Lao Gan Ma. It's really no contest! Your sauce recipe is amazingly savoury and addictive. The best thing is if you have the sauce already made you can make this recipe in no time at all. Thanks so much! I think I will be making it all the time now.
Elaine
Hi Eve,
That's a very sweet comment. I am so happy to read this. Personally I love this version very much too. It is super simple and as good as the complex mapo tofu. Happy cooking and enjoy!
Nate
Thanks for this recipe Elaine. I was looking for a good recipe that uses eggs and tofu because they're good, inexpensive protein, and I found this and it is exactly what I was looking for. I just made it, and it was so filling and delicious. Easy to make. So much protein. Loved all the flavors.
It's hard to tell from the photo, about what size pan do you use for this recipe? I used one that was a bit smaller I think, I wonder if I should try a larger one next time. I'm already thinking about making this again.
Nate
Commenting again because I forgot to rate.
Elaine
Nate, I believe I am using a regular pan around 24cm in size. Love to hear your comment. Happy cooking!
Jessica
Really enjoyed this dish the first time - comforting with a kick! I added mushrooms which added meaty texure.
I tried doubling the recipe but it didn't turn out as good, with a burnt taste because the eggs ended up forming a wall and it was hard for the tofu and inner egg liquid to cook through. I made the dish in a Chinese ceramic cooking pot with higher edges. Do you recommend making this dish in a flat pan rather than a ceramic cooking pot so the ingredients cook more evenly? Also, do you stir the eggs after adding the tofu to break up the outer layer of egg before putting on simmer? Or do you not touch the eggs at all after adding the tofu?
Thanks!
Elaine
Dear, you need to make smaller batches to make sure the egg can spread at the bottom. Don't stir, we are making one side crispy while the other super tender. But you can move the pan from side to side to make sure it is evenly heated.