Originally Posted by
gaobest
so it’s not cold when you buy it? I’ve only known tofu from supermarkets - I never bought it at Chinese grocers or markets. Now I’m only getting it in the cold section at Costco so it’s always in the fridge at home. I prefer to eat it cooked and hot. Even at restaurants, or dim sum, I’ve never had it cold
If you buy from an asian grocer it's usually chilled, but not really that cold (sitting in a similar cooler as the cold cuts or fresh noodles section). If you buy it from the factory that makes it, then it's often warm-ish as it likely just came off the line. I like tofu hot as well (eg, mapo tofu), but once in a while it's a nice refreshing change to eat it cold.
Originally Posted by
gaobest
what’s your ginger/oil “recipe” - I definitely like it as a dip but only had it with cold boiled chicken and definitely not with “wind dried” pork or duck (the duck is served more with a soy-based sauce)
I don't have a recipe per se, but it's really take a bunch of ginger to a grater (you could probably use a food processor, but I don't use one so it'd require some experimentation). Then chop a bunch of spring onions/scallions (roughly 1:1 ratio) into little 1/8ish inch bits (1/4-1/2 cm bits...)... then combine 3/4 cup of neutral oil into a wok (I use vegetable oil) or a smallish pot with the ginger and onions and warm for a few minutes. Salt to taste while the oil is warm.
I've never been strict following the recipe, but roughly 5 stalks of spring onions and the equivalent amount of ginger works for me (sometimes I put in less oil if it looks like it'll overwhelm the ginger and spring onions) and try to be sparing with the salt... went to a chinese roast meat stall once in a mall and they had probably put in 5x the amount of salt you should have and it just wrecked the sauce (and they had a big pot of it) This usually lasts me a while if refrigerated properly.