Yong tau foo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yong tau foo

Yong tau foo soup (right) with noodles
Type	Main course, soup
Place of origin	China
Main ingredients	Tofu, meat paste (fish and ground meat)

Yong tau foo (pronounced "yong tow foo") is a yummy Hakka Chinese meal. It's mostly made from tofu that's filled with a mix of ground meat or fish paste. Sometimes, vegetables and mushrooms are also stuffed with this tasty filling. You can enjoy Yong tau foo in different ways: either dry with a special sauce or as a warm soup.

This dish is popular in many places like China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. You'll also find it in cities where many Hakka families live.

Different Ways to Enjoy Yong Tau Foo

Yong tau foo comes in a few exciting styles!

Fried or Braised Yong Tau Foo

The traditional Hakka way to make Yong tau foo involves stuffing cubes of tofu with minced meat (like lamb or pork) and herbs. These are then fried until they turn a lovely golden brown. Sometimes, they are also braised, which means cooked slowly in liquid.

Other foods can be stuffed too, like eggplants, shiitake mushrooms, and even bitter melon. These are filled with the same meat paste. Often, this traditional Yong tau foo is served in a clear yellow bean stew, especially with the bitter melon and shiitake versions.

Yong Tau Foo Soup

In places like Southeast Asia, "Yong tau foo" often means a soup dish. Instead of minced meat, they use fish paste (surimi) for the filling. The main part of the dish is still tofu stuffed with fish paste. But it's also common to stuff vegetables like bitter melon, ladies fingers, and chilis with fish paste.

The soup can also have other yummy things like fish balls, crab sticks, cuttlefish, and sausages. All these ingredients are cut into bite-sized pieces and quickly cooked in hot broth. You can have them in the broth as a soup, or with the broth in a separate bowl (called "dry"). People usually eat it with chopsticks and a soup spoon. It can be a meal by itself or served with steamed rice, noodles, or rice vermicelli.

Sometimes, this dish is served with laksa gravy or curry sauce instead of broth. Two important dipping sauces are a spicy chili sauce (which tastes a bit like Sriracha sauce) and a sweet brown bean sauce or hoisin sauce.

Yong Tau Foo Around the World

This dish has some cool regional twists!

Malaysian Yong Tau Foo

In Malaysia, especially near Kuala Lumpur in a place called Ampang, Selangor, Yong tau foo is very famous. It's a popular meal there!

Thai Yentafo

In Thailand, they have a similar dish called yentafo. What makes it special is its bright pink broth! This color comes from fermented bean paste, and sometimes blood or food coloring is added.

Vietnamese Khổ Qua Cà Ớt

In southern Vietnam, there's a dish called khổ qua cà ớt. It uses fish paste (called chả cá) stuffed into bitter melon, large chili peppers, fried tofu, eggplants, or tomatoes. These are then fried. You can eat it plain, dip it in sauce, or have it in a bowl with broth.

Gallery

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  Traditional braised yong tau foo

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  Hakka yong tau foo served with brown sweet bean sauce

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  A "buffet" selection of ingredients for yong tau foo in Malaysia

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  A bowl of Thai yen tafo

See also

In Spanish: Yong tau fu para niños