What it is
Plum-sauce tofu (梅汁豆腐) is egg tofu (雞蛋豆腐), a soft tofu made with egg, deep-fried until the surface is crisp while the centre stays silky. It is dressed with a sauce made from shiso-pickled plums (紫蘇梅), so the salty fried tofu meets a sweet and sour glaze.
Where it came from
The dish is a signature of Ibu Kitchen (阿香的廚房) in Meinong, Kaohsiung. Its chef-owner is Bunun, one of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. He first ran a restaurant in the mountains and moved to Meinong after Typhoon Morakot in 2009. He still cooks with produce from his home area around Mt Tengzhi (藤枝山). The menu mixes Indigenous dishes with everyday Taiwanese cooking.
How it is made
Shiso plums aged for three years are chopped fine and simmered in plum juice. A splash of green plum concentrate (青梅精) sharpens the sauce. The tofu is fried, then the sauce is spooned over before serving.
How to eat it
It is a shared dish, ordered with rice and a few others. At weekends and on public holidays Ibu Kitchen serves set menus only, so go on a weekday to choose dishes one by one.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Ibu Kitchen sits beside Meinung Folk Village in Meinong, a Hakka town, but cooks Indigenous food. Its other signature is a millet zongzi (小米粽) with pork and stir-fried sakura shrimp.
