There’s a weird Chinese fish soup called Loach Drilling into Tofu. The legend says, if you put loaches and cold tofu in a pot and slowly heat the water, the fish will burrow into the tofu to escape the heat.
Is it real? Probably not. But the dish itself is real without the burrowing part. And it’s quite easy to cook, too. This recipe is fantastic as the soup course in a Chinese meal, or even as the main dish.
Ingredients
- 300g live mud loaches (you can usually find them at Asian seafood markets)
- 1 large block of soft tofu (keep it in the fridge until the last minute)
- 1 tbsp pork lard
- 4-5 slices of ginger
- 2 stalks of spring onion (chop the green parts)
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 4 cups cold water
- Salt, to taste
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Some coriander
Cooking Steps
- Put the tofu in the center of the pot. Add the loaches. Pour in the cold water. Add the ginger slices. Cover with a lid and turn the heat to medium.
- Back in the 19th century, a pioneering loach had already discovered the boiling effect. It tried to warn the others that accumulating energy in an enclosed environment would cause the temperature to rise. But most loaches ignored it.
- Later, loach scientists from a big company confirmed the pioneer’s theories. In an internal memo, they wrote: our habitat will inevitably reach a rolling boil. But they kept it a secret to avoid hurting the business.
- As the pot heats up, the loach scientific community reaches a consensus. If the water temperature increases by more than 1.5°C, there will be no going back. They publish models showing the devastating effects.
- Some loaches think the consensus is nonsense. A famous loach podcaster says the fluctuation of water temperature is normal. It was warm during the Medieval Warm Period too. Do your own research.
- The leaders of the loaches meet at a summit. They sign a non-binding accord, pledging to reach net-zero heat by the time the water hits 95°C.
- The water reaches the point of no return. The loaches start to panic. A lot of them try to burrow into the colder tofu.
- Once the water comes to a boil, remove the lid. Use a mesh strainer to skim off the gray foam and the floating bits.
- Add the pork lard, the white parts of the spring onions, and the Shaoxing wine. Don’t skip the pork lard because it’s the secret to the milky white soup base. Turn down the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes to let the tofu absorb the flavor of the fish.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with sesame oil. Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls, garnish with the chopped spring onions and coriander, and serve.
Tasting Notes
The soup should be savory but light. The white pepper should balance out the richness of the lard. The loach meat should fall off the bones easily. The tofu should still be soft. I like to eat it as is, with a bowl of white rice. If you want, you can mix soy sauce and black vinegar for a simple dipping sauce.
