Red Fermented Bean Curd

Any Cantonese will be familiar with 'nam yu'. Its basically:

Red fermented bean curd (traditional Chinese: 紅豆腐乳/南乳; pinyin: hóng dòufu rǔ/nán rǔ), incorporates red yeast rice (cultivated with Monascus purpureus) with the brining liquor for a deep-red color, thickened flavor and a distinctive flavor and aroma.

The smell is reminisence of my grandmother stewing a big pot of 'zai' (vegetarian) during Chinese New Year. Its a dish eaten only at that time, or served in Chinese temples during special occasions.  Really easy to prepare but you must get good quality nam yu. You should  get it from your regular dried goods store in the wet market, and not from the supermarket. Its usually stored in small hand sized vats and you must specifiy to the store owner you want the more expensive variety. If you are lucky, they will have it. Most people don't know this, but dried goods stuff have different grades. I always pay a bit more for quality lap cheong, dried anchovies, shrimps, mushrooms, scallops etc.

I will stew this over a claypot, but if you do not own one, a non-stick pot is better than a stainless steel one. Although this is really a personal preference.

4 cubes of nam yu mashed to a paste
A bulb of garlic, whole and peeled
A handful of lily bulbs, soaked in water and the heads trimmed
8 pieces of woods ear, soaked in water and sand washed out. Slice each into half
4 pieces of tau pok, sliced in triangles. I actually prefer the rounded ones as they soak in the gravy more
A bunch of dried mung bean, soaked in water

1. Gently fry the garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of heated oil
2. Fry the nam yu paste till it smells fragrant, about a min or so. Be careful not to burn it
3. Drain and add the rest of the ingredients except the mung bean
4. Stir fry till the nam yu has coated most of the ingredients, add 3-4 cups of water or till it covers
5. Stew over low heat for at least 1.5 hrs till everything turns soft
6. Add the mung bean 30 mins prior to serving.
7. Add salt to taste. Nam yu is salty in itself so practise moderation

Nam yu can also be fried with kang kong, garlic and sliced red chillies, or stewed with fatty pork. Its a hearty and rich dish that will add interesting notes to your dining table, and best eaten with a bowl of steaming white rice.

I have been very sick the last 4 days and made a fatty pork nam yu for dinner last night. Absolutely delicious and it added some taste to my otherwise bland taste buds.

For tonight, its going to be a simple kampung black chicken soup with red dates, wolfberries, wai san and yook jook (wai san is Chinese yam and yook jook is Solomon's seal). Hopefully my head will clear and I am no longer part of the flu epidemic statistic!