Frank Lau remembers that at every family gathering his grandmother, Ah Kook Alice Lau, would prepare delicious stuffed aburage (deep fried tofu pouches). Since she passed away, Frank has taken over the tradition, preparing the stuffing and steaming the delicacies for the family.
The Mililani Mauka resident tries to keep the filling the same as what Grammy Lau would make: Ground pork, Chinese fish cake paste, water chestnuts, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, salt and white pepper.
Other cooks add black mushrooms, but he says Grammy never did. So, he stays true to her tastes. Also, he has learned that locally made aburage, like from Aloha Tofu, works much better than the brands from Japan.
He says the freshly made aburage has more texture. Also, white pepper instead of black pepper adds a distinctive flavor to the soft filling that is studded with small bits of crunchy water chestnuts. Since fish paste, made from oio or awa awa fish, is sometimes difficult to locate, he recommends mashing swai or other soft-fleshed fish to get that same texture.
Grammy Lau would serve her steamed morsels along with lap cheong (Chinese sausage) and pickled vegetables. Good memories.
Grammy Lau’s stuffed aburage
Ingredients:
• 2-3-ounce Aloha Tofu aburage (deep fried tofu pouches)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound raw Chinese fish paste
• 5 water chestnuts, chopped
• 2 stalks green onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1 pinch salt
Optional: chopped Chinese parsley or green onion as garnish
Directions:
Mix ground pork, fish paste, water chestnuts and green onions along with oil, white pepper and salt. Cut aburage diagonally into triangles. It’s best to use local aburage as the imported ones get too soft when you steam them. Fill each aburage with the pork mixture and even them out. Place in bamboo steamer and steam on low heat until cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Garnish with green onions or Chinese parsley. Makes about 16 stuffed pieces.
