Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork

Drain the tofu and weigh 350 g. Gently slice about 1 cm thick and arrange in slightly overlapping rows in a heatproof deep plate. Mince 3 garlic cloves and thinly slice 2 spring onions. Keep 150 g ground pork in a separate raw-meat bowl; wash hands and tools after handling it.

Mix 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tbsp cornstarch and 4 tbsp water until no dry lumps remain. Use a 15 ml tablespoon. Start heating enough water in a steamer to stay below the rack; heat it while cooking the pork. Steamer water is separate from the 4 tbsp recipe water.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat. Add all the garlic and stir until fragrant but still pale. Add all 150 g pork, raise to medium-high and break it into crumbles for about 2–3 minutes, until loose and no longer pink on the surface. Lower the heat if the garlic browns quickly. Continue cooking in the next step; color alone is not a doneness check.

Stir the sauce from Step 2 again and add it all. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 30–60 seconds, stirring until glossy, translucent and lightly coating the pork while still flowing. Cook the pork thoroughly: check the thickest clump reaches 75°C for 30 seconds, and continue heating if needed. Do not reduce it to a dry, sticky mass.

Use a clean spoon to spread all the cooked pork and sauce over the tofu from Step 1, leaving some white edges visible. Keep the sauce in the plate and avoid stirring or turning the fragile tofu.

Once the steamer water boils, set the plate on the rack and cover. Steam over medium heat with steady steam for about 6–8 minutes, until the tofu center and pork topping are piping hot. Keep boiling water below the plate. Continue steaming if needed; avoid violent boiling that can damage the tofu.

Turn off the heat and carefully lift out the hot plate using heatproof tools, keeping it level to avoid spilling the sauce. Scatter over all the sliced spring onions from Step 1 and serve hot. The tofu should remain white and intact, with loose pork crumbles and a little light-brown sauce in the plate.