Fengyang's celebrated stuffed tofu — known as Zhu Hongwu Tofu after its legendary association with the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor. Blocks of firm tofu are filled with pork and shrimp, coated in egg-white batter, deep-fried to a pale gold and draped in a shimmering sweet-sour glaze.
The dish is said to have been a favourite of Zhu Yuanzhang — later Emperor Hongwu, founder of the Ming Dynasty — during his impoverished youth in Fengyang, where a cook surnamed Huang reportedly gave the starving young man fried stuffed tofu. After Zhu founded the Ming in 1368, the Huang family cook was reputedly summoned to the imperial kitchen, elevating the dish to court cuisine and earning it the name Zhu Hongwu Tofu. Local food histories place the dish's continuous tradition at over 600 years, and it remains the centrepiece of the ceremonial Hongwu Banquet held in Fengyang today.
The shell cracks audibly at the first touch of chopsticks; inside, the tofu is still pillowy white and steaming. The pork-shrimp filling is moist and savory, the juices contained by the golden crust. The sweet-sour glaze coats everything with a sticky, bright acidity that offsets the fat and lifts the tofu's mild flavour.
Tofu is roughly 90% water. At frying temperatures of 175–180°C, the surface water flashes to steam; the egg-white protein coat sets rapidly via thermal denaturation and Maillard browning, forming a thin, crisp, golden shell. The egg-white layer acts as insulation, slowing heat penetration and preserving the tofu's soft interior. The sweet-sour sauce — sugar and vinegar reduced with a starch slurry — gelatinises the starch on heating, creating a glossy, clingy coating that adheres persistently to the fried shell and releases a persistent aroma of warm acetic acid.
Variations
A premium version fills the tofu with crab meat instead of pork and shrimp; a pork-only version omits shrimp for a denser filling. The sauce varies between sweet-sour (most common in restaurants) and a clear broth reduction for a more subtly flavoured presentation. Home cooks sometimes skip the egg-white batter and braise the stuffed tofu in stock instead.
On the Palate
Where Fengyang Stuffed Tofu sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 25 min
- 120 min
Press the firm tofu between two plates with a weight on top for 20 minutes to remove excess water; then cut into rectangular blocks about 4 × 5cm and 2cm thick.
Watch outPress the tofu twenty minutes to shed water before cutting — waterlogged tofu spits in the fryer and the egg-white coat won't set crisp.
- 210 min
Finely mince the pork and shrimp together until almost paste-like; season with light soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, grated ginger and a pinch of salt.
- 310 min
Use a small knife to cut a deep pocket into one side of each tofu block; spoon the filling in and press the edges gently closed.
- 45 min
Beat the egg whites with a fork until frothy; fold in the cornstarch to form a light coating batter.
- 55 min
Dredge each stuffed tofu block in the egg-white batter, coating all surfaces.
- 68 min
Deep-fry in oil at 175°C for 3–4 minutes, turning carefully, until all sides are pale golden; remove and drain.
Watch outFry at 175°C until all sides are pale gold — the egg-white shell insulates the soft interior, so pull as soon as it's set or it toughens.
- 77 min
In a clean wok, combine sugar, rice vinegar and a splash of water; heat until the sugar dissolves, add cornstarch slurry and stir until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the spatula. Pour over the fried tofu and serve immediately.
Watch outReduce the sweet-sour sauce until it turns glossy and clings to the spatula, then pour at once — a thin sauce slides off the crisp shell.
