Crispy Skin Stuffed Tofu

Crispy skin stuffed tofu, or Cui Pei Doufu (脆皮豆腐), was a dish my parents used to order frequently when we would make the trek out to Chinatown from upstate New York. Stuffed and deep fried, these little bricks of tofu are crispy on the outside and soft and delicate on the inside, with a small mound of ground shrimp filling to top it off.

A Disappearing Cantonese Dish

It’s been a long time since I had this dish, and I don’t remember ever seeing it on a menu anywhere in China. Perhaps I was simply never looking for it, or maybe it was conceived here in the US by immigrant chefs. If anyone knows, drop us a line in the comments! If you’ve ever eaten this at a Cantonese restaurant, you might say that this crispy skin stuffed tofu is relatively expensive for what you get. It’s priced similarly to a meat dish, despite being relatively simple. But hey, what’s a couple of bucks for a tasty dish when you’re eating out, right? I only mention this because  usually when we would order it all those years ago at our favorite Chinatown Cantonese restaurants, there would be some comment from the more frugal (and usually more senior) diners about it being too expensive for a simple tofu dish. Good old-fashioned frugal immigrant grandparents for you…Sometimes a short discussion would ensue that went something like this: “No tofu. It’s not a good deal…tofu is too cheap!” My dear mom would say: “But little Billy likes it. It’s okay!” So we got the crispy skin stuffed tofu—oh, the power of kids, even back then! We wanted to try it at home, and add the recipe to our archives. Usually, the stuffing in restaurant versions of this dish use a quarter or less of what we have used here, maybe to emphasize the tofu or boost margin, but feel free to put however much you want or even leave it out completely to make a vegan tofu dish. Whatever you decide, pick up one of these babies delicately with your chopsticks, dip it thoroughly in the light soy dipping sauce, and enjoy with a bowl of rice. Be careful when eating because the crispy skin stuffed tofu does gets really hot inside! Hope you enjoy this one!

A Quick Note on Tofu

Note: Make sure you use “soft tofu.” Soft tofu and silken tofu are sometimes confused, but silken would be too delicate for this particular recipe, and firm tofu would be too solid and heavy. The soft tofu is just right. If you find yourself getting confused in the refrigerated section of your Asian grocery store, you should definitely refer to our Chinese tofu and bean curd page for guidance.

Crispy Skin Stuffed Tofu: Recipe Instructions

Use a cleaver or knife to finely mince the shrimp into a very fine paste. This process entails chopping and then folding the shrimp paste over and onto itself, and continuing to chop until you have a paste. We used this same technique in our Dim Sum Stuffed Pepper recipe. Transfer the shrimp paste to a bowl and add in the rest of the filling ingredients (salt, oil, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, white pepper. Mix well until combined. Carefully remove the soft tofu from the carton, draining the excess water. Cut the block in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 5 equal pieces of tofu so you get 10 tofu blocks. Next, position the tofu slices on a plate or sheet pan. Measure out 2 tablespoons of cornstarch onto a small plate. Next, scoop 1 teaspoon of the filling with a measuring spoon and dip the open end of the spoon onto the cornstarch to coat it. Place a teaspoon of filling onto the middle of each tofu block cornstarch side down. This cornstarch will “glue” the filling onto the tofu. Repeat another 9 times for the other tofu pieces. Once all the filling is in place, pour the remaining cornstarch into a sieve, and carefully sift the rest evenly over the stuffed tofu. This will give you an extra crispy top-coating giving the crispy skin stuffed tofu that signature crunchy outside. Heat 4 cups of oil in a wok or small pot to 375 degrees. While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up, mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and set aside—sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and scallions. Use a metal spatula to carefully pick up a block of tofu and slide it into the oil. You can fry them a few at a time, but make sure the oil temperature remains constant. Fry them until golden brown, moving them gently as needed to cook evenly, 2 to 4 minutes. When cooked through, remove them with a slotted spoon or metal spatula to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. You can sprinkle a bit of salt on top if you like, or simply enjoy them with the dipping sauce. Don’t salt the tofu before frying, or it will crack open, and you’ll have a bit of a mess on your hands. Transfer to a serving plate and serve your crispy skin stuffed tofu with the sauce on the side!