jessiefoodinthekitchen

Stuffed tofu (Yong Tau Foo / 酿豆腐 ) has always been one of my favorite home-cooked dishes, but what makes this recipe truly special is the seasoning. M y late mum always reached for one ingredient she trusted above all else – YEO'S Salted Fermented Soybean Paste , which retains the whole soybean grai ns. No matter what she was cooking, whether it was stuffed tofu, vegetables, or simple home-style braised dishes, this humble soybean paste was her secret ingredient. It added a deep savory flavor that instantly made every meal taste like home. I still remember telling her that supermarkets now sell ready-made soybean paste in jars, so she no longer needed to mash the fermented whole soybean grains with a mortar and pestle. But she would simply smile and continue using her old favorite . To her, nothing could replace the familiar taste she had been cooking with for years. Some traditions are simply too precious to change. Today, whenever I make stuffed tofu, I follow her way. The ...

There's something incredibly satisfying about lifting the steamer lid to reveal perfectly fluffy steamed buns with beautiful natural cracks on top. Those "blooming" buns aren't just attractive . T hey're often a sign of a well-fermented dough with a light, airy texture. This time, I experimented with using a poolish starter to make my mantou , and the results were well worth the extra planning. The buns turned out exceptionally soft, with a finer crumb, a subtle sweetness from natural fermentation, and a richer wheat aroma that you simply don't get from mixing everything together in one go.   What Is a Poolish ? A poolish is a simple pre-ferment made with equal parts of flour and water, plus a tiny amount of yeast. It is left to ferment for several hours, or overnight, before being mixed into the final dough. Although poolish is commonly used in artisan bread baking, it also works wonderfully for Chinese steamed buns. The slow fermentation develops flavo...