A day-walk through the market with mom. Past the slick, silky fishes, past the veggies wilting in the Malaysian humidity, past the briskets of beefs and lamb hocks hanging on hooks. Turning the corner into the tofu stall.

The uncle plunged his hand into the water, sloshing the water around, and scoops up these pearlescent, supple blobs. He handled them gently, slowly, belying his stocky frame. “They look like mozzarella”, I thought to myself. “But no, this is a tofu shop.” My hands reached out for them, cuddling them in my palms. They were silken, softer, and suppler than any mozzarella. My mind blown, we bought half a dozen of them home.

That afternoon, I brought the baubles of tofu out of their water bath in the fridge. A 6-minute steam, a dash of dashi and soy, a flurry of fried garlic and spring onion slivers later, they gleamed on the plate. I cut them open, the bulbous balls cleaved cleanly into quarters. They were more supple than mozzarella, more bursting than Go Noodle’s bursting meatballs, more satisfying than Christmas baubles.

They were lunch.

Silken Tofu with Garlic & Soy

Ingredients

3 tofu balls, or any other silken tofu in any shape, really
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup sunflower oil, or any other neutral oil
1 sprig of spring onion, sliced thinly

Soy dashi
1 cup water
1 piece kombu
2 pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms
10g bonito flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon Shaoxing wine

Directions

Fried garlic: In a small saucepan, place the chopped garlic and the sunflower oil, and heat up the pan over medium-low heat. The garlic will start bubbling and frying, let it cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the garlic is nicely browned.
Soy sauce: In another small pot or saucepan, place the water, kombu, and kombu, and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, then add in the bonito flakes, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
Tofu: Ready a steamer setup, and heat the water to a gently boil. Steam the silken tofu for 6 minutes, over this gentle boil, then remove it from the steamer when it’s done.
Quarter the tofu balls (or if you’re using a silken tofu block, just slice it into large cubes), and pour the soy dashi all over it. Then, sprinkle the fried garlic and spring onions on top. Serve hot!