I have nostalgic memories of eating Yong Tau Foo in Ampang on our once-in-a-blue-moon family day trips from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur when my dad used to pack us like sardines in the car as we headed for the dizzy lights of Malaysia’s capital. We would spend the day window shopping at Sungei Wang Plaza, visiting my uncle’s hawker stall where he used to do brisk business selling sotong giling bakar (grilled squid, a trade which he had learned from my dad), and detouring to Ampang for their famous Yong Tau Foo, and/or to Kajang for their famous satay.
The endless variety of stuffed vegetables and tofu that are poached, steamed or fried, and served with a clear broth and “tim cheong” (literally, sweet sauce), and the idea of making the fish paste from scratch, makes the prospect of recreating Ampang Yong Tau Foo at home somewhat daunting for most overseas Malaysians. Which, of course, has never been a good enough reason to stop me – I used to sell this at my restaurant here in Sydney, Australia, though I applied some liberal shortcuts including using basa fillets instead of filleting a whole fish from scratch, etc.
Watch the final episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia Series 2 (Selangor); my Ampang Yong Tau Foo cooking segment starts at the 1:39 mark >> https://youtu.be/lrPbCIy0Ogs
Ampang Yong Tau Foo
INGREDIENTS:
Fish Paste:
1⁄2 kg fish fillets
1⁄2 cup cold water
1 Tbsp chicken powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP tapioca flour
Tofu, tofu sheets & tofu puffs plus variety of
vegetables – eggplant, chilli, capsicum – slit open
Oil for deep-frying or pan-frying
Water for poaching
Broth:
3L chicken stock
1⁄2 cup soya beans
1⁄2 yam bean (sengkuang) or daikon
Salt and pepper to taste
Spring onion, sliced
Sweet Sauce Dip:
1 cup hoisin sauce
3-4 TBSP sugar
1⁄3 cup water
1 tsp tapioca starch + 1 TBSP cold water
Sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds
METHOD:
To make the fish paste & stuffed vegetables:
- Divide ingredients into 2 batches; pulse to a paste in a food processor.
- Use to stuff vegetables, tofu, tofu sheets, or to make fish balls (boiled or fried).
- Fill cavity of tofu and vegetables with fish paste, using butter knife.
- Cook all ingredients – Deep-fry at 180C for 5-10 minutes, or poach, steam or pan-fry to your liking.
To make the broth:
- Place soya beans in a muslin bag, secure, then add to stock along with yam bean.
- Simmer for 1 hour. Season with salt, pepper and/or chicken powder.
- Garnish with spring onion, and serve with stuffed vegetables.
To make the sweet sauce:
- Combine hoisin sauce with water and sugar and simmer on low heat until sugar is dissolved. Amount of sugar used will vary according to the brand of hoisin sauce and your own personal preference.
- If necessary, thicken by adding tapioca starch plus water mixture towards the end.
- Place some stuffed tofu and vegetables in a bowl, top with broth and serve with side of sweet sauce and chilli sauce.
Also in this episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia (Selangor) –
- Mazna Merten shows us how to make Satay Kajang
- Christopher Lee gives us a history lesson regarding Ampang Yong Tau Foo
- The JetLag Warriors are back with some Selangor food hunts
- Shaukani Abbas gives us his top picks of things to do and places to go in Selangor
The recipes for the entire series, produced in partnership with Tourism Malaysia Australia, can be found in the special edition MOMC eMagazine which you can download here >> Click to View or Download
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