Hakka stuffed tofu

Soak four pieces of dry shiitake mushroom in half a cup plus a third of a cup of water, four hours ahead. Squeeze them out, save the soaking liquid, then slice and dice them fine.

In a big mixing bowl combine 5.5 oz ground pork, three eighths of a teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of light soy sauce, two teaspoons of Chinese cooking wine, the mushrooms and a quarter cup of diced spring onion.

Mix until well combined, then stir in one direction for three to five minutes, throwing and beating the filling to develop the texture. It is ready when little strands show as you pull it apart.

Chill the filling in the fridge while the tofu is prepared.

Cut each 300 g pack of firm tofu into ten even cubes, big enough to hollow out.

Cut gently along the edge of each cube with a thin knife, not too deep so the bottom does not break, and lift the middle out to leave a tofu container. Keep the offcuts for egg drop or hot and sour soup.

Stuff each container a little at a time, supporting the edge with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger so it does not break. Split any leftover filling over the pieces; over stuffing is fine.

Sauce: to the mushroom soaking liquid add an eighth teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce and white pepper to taste, and mix until the oyster sauce has fully dissolved.

Take out a third of a cup plus a tablespoon of the sauce into another bowl for cooking the tofu, leaving half a cup plus a tablespoon in the first bowl for the gravy. The amounts are different, so keep them apart.

Add a generous amount of oil to a large frying pan, toss to cover the base, and place the tofu in filling side down while the oil is still cold so it does not splash.

Fry on medium heat about four minutes until the filling is golden brown, loosening with a thin tool if the pan is not non-stick, then flip and fry the other side. Three sides were browned here.

Turn the heat off for a moment while reaching over the pan, since frying tofu releases liquid and spits.

Turn the tofu filling side up, pour over the portion of sauce set aside for cooking, cover with a gapped lid on medium and wait until all the liquid is gone.

Take the tofu out. In a sauce pot heat some oil with grated garlic, the diced white spring onion and optional hot chillies, and stir until fragrant.

Pour in the remaining sauce, bring to a boil and thicken with 1.5 tsp of cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp of water.

Pour the gravy over the tofu and sprinkle with the reserved green spring onion.