Century Egg Tofu: A Five-Minute Cold Dish

Editor’s Note: This is the kitchen companion to Century Egg Tofu: Shanghai's Answer to August. Quantities, temperatures and the failure points are below. Read the technique once before you shop.

Why This Dish Is Built Cold and Eaten Fast

Century egg tofu is a cold dish, start to finish, and that is not a serving suggestion but a constraint. Silken tofu is roughly 90 percent water, held in a protein gel that begins to collapse the moment salt touches it. Dress the block an hour ahead and you will find a pale pool on the plate and tofu that tastes of nothing, because the soy has drawn the water out and gone with it. Assemble it cold, keep it cold, and eat it within 20 minutes of the dressing going on.

The tofu itself matters more than the brand. Silken tofu, sold in a 400g tub under plastic film, is set without pressing and has the texture of soft custard. Soft tofu, usually sold in a tray of water, is firmer and can be cut into cubes that hold their shape. Both work. Silken gives you spoonfuls that collapse under the chopsticks; soft gives you clean cubes and a tidier plate. For a first attempt, take the soft one, because it forgives a heavy hand.

Unmolding is where most blocks crack. Run a thin knife around the inside of the tub, cut the film, invert the tub onto the plate in one movement, and lift it straight up. If the block resists, do not shake it. Warm the knife under hot water, dry it, and run it around the wall again; the heat loosens the set edge without tearing the middle.

Century egg needs a wet knife for the same reason a ripe avocado does. The yolk is a dark, sticky gel that drags and crumbles against a dry blade. Dip the knife in water between every cut, wipe it, and cut with a gentle sawing motion rather than a press. Why this matters: a dry knife smears the yolk through the white and you lose the clean amber-and-ink contrast the dish is built around.

Steaming the peeled egg for 5 minutes is optional. It sets the yolk just enough that it slices like firm fudge instead of smearing, and it mutes the ammonia edge that some people find sharp. Otherwise, skip it if your knife is wet.

Ingredients

For the base

• 400g silken or soft tofu, one block, chilled
• 2 century eggs (about 120g), peeled
• 1 small cucumber (100g), sliced into thin rings, optional

For the dressing

• 1.5 tbsp (22ml) light soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5ml) Chinkiang aged vinegar
• 1 tsp (4g) caster sugar
• 1 tbsp (15ml) chili oil
• 1 tsp (5ml) sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic (3g), grated, optional

To finish

• 2 spring onions (20g), sliced thin on the diagonal
• 1 tsp (4g) toasted sesame seeds
• 1 pinch flaky salt (0.5g), only if the soy is low-salt

Substitution notes: If you cannot find century egg, a 6-minute soft-boiled hen egg gives you the same amber-and-white look but none of the mineral flavour, so add 1 tsp of light soy to the yolk when you quarter it. Silken tofu can be replaced with 300g of chilled soft tofu or, in a pinch, with silken tofu sold in a long-life box, which is firmer and drains less. Chinkiang vinegar can be swapped for 1 tsp of balsamic at half the quantity, though it will taste sweeter.

Do not use firm or extra-firm tofu here. It will not absorb the dressing and the dish turns into a salad of dry cubes.

Prep: Ten Minutes, Most of It Careful Cutting

1. Chill and drain the tofu (5 minutes)

Take the tofu out of the fridge only when everything else is ready. Open the tub, pour off any standing water, and set the block on a plate lined with two sheets of kitchen paper for 5 minutes while you do the rest. This removes the surface water that would otherwise dilute the dressing.

2. Steam the century eggs, optional (5 minutes)

Peel the eggs under a thin stream of cold water, which lifts the shell without tearing the white. Set them in a steamer over boiling water for 5 minutes, then cool them in cold water for 2 minutes before slicing. If you skip this, go straight to slicing with a wet knife.

3. Mix the dressing and slice the aromatics (3 minutes)

Whisk the light soy, vinegar, sugar, chili oil and sesame oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and the oil beads evenly through the soy, about 30 seconds. Slice the spring onions thin on the diagonal and keep them cold. The dressing can sit for an hour, but the tofu cannot.

Step by Step: Assembly in Five Minutes

Step 1: Unmold the tofu onto a cold plate (1 minute)

Chill the serving plate in the freezer for 10 minutes first; a cold plate slows the weeping. Run a thin knife around the inside of the tub, cut the film across the top, and invert the tub over the plate. Lift the tub straight up. If the block sticks, press the base gently with your palm, never the sides. Tilt the plate and pour off any water that has collected before dressing.

Step 2: Slice the century eggs with a wet knife (2 minutes)

Dip a thin knife in a bowl of water, shake off the excess, and cut each egg into six wedges, dipping and wiping between cuts. Start at the narrow end and cut towards the wide end in one slow draw. Arrange the wedges around the tofu in a ring, alternating yolk side up and down so the plate shows both the amber and the dark edge.

Step 3: Score the tofu and dress it (1 minute)

Cut the block into a 3cm grid with the tip of a knife, going only two-thirds of the way down, so the dressing can travel between the pieces. Spoon the dressing over in three passes, letting it run into the cuts rather than pouring it all in the middle. Tuck the cucumber rings between the egg wedges if using.

Step 4: Finish cold and serve at once (1 minute)

Scatter the spring onions and sesame seeds, add the pinch of salt only if your soy is low-salt, and take it to the table. Total time from dressing to table should be under 10 minutes, and the plate should be finished within 20. Why this matters: past 20 minutes the salt has pulled enough water out of the tofu to thin the dressing, and the dish goes from glossy to watery.

Key Pitfalls

The tofu block cracked down the middle as it came out of the tub. The film was pulled rather than cut, or the tub was shaken loose. Cut the film cleanly with a knife, run a warm knife around the wall, invert in one movement, and lift the tub straight up. If it resists, warm the knife again instead of tapping the tub.

The plate was swimming in liquid ten minutes after dressing. The tofu was not drained first, or it was dressed too early. Stand the block on kitchen paper for 5 minutes, chill the plate, score the tofu only two-thirds deep, and dress no more than 10 minutes before serving.

The century egg crumbled into grey mush. A dry knife dragged through the yolk. Dip the blade in water before every cut, wipe it, and use a slow sawing draw rather than a single press. Steaming the peeled egg for 5 minutes firms the yolk enough to slice cleanly.

The dressing tasted harsh and thin. The sugar was left out or the vinegar was overdone. The 1 tsp of sugar is what ties the soy and chili oil together, and the 1 tsp of vinegar should sit behind the soy, not in front of it. Whisk until the sugar dissolves fully, then taste on a piece of tofu, not on its own.

The tofu itself tasted of nothing. The dressing sat on top of an uncut block. Score the tofu into a 3cm grid so the soy runs between the pieces, and spoon the dressing on in three passes.

The chili oil turned the whole dish red and bitter. The chili oil was old, or it was a toasted oil with burnt flakes at the bottom of the jar. Use the clear oil from the top, 1 tbsp only, and taste it first. If it is bitter on its own, it will be bitter on the tofu.

The dish was good at six and unpleasant at eight. It stood dressed on the table. Salt draws water out of the tofu continuously, and the dressing separates as it warms. Keep the components separate, dress at the last moment, and put any leftovers back in the fridge within 20 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

Serve it as the cold opener to a meal of hot dishes, or as one of three cold plates with smashed cucumber and peanuts. It needs nothing starchy beside it, though plain rice is fine if you want to catch the dressing at the end. The dish is at its best in summer, when a cold, saline, faintly bitter plate is what you want before anything cooked.

Cold jasmine tea or a light beer, nothing oaky. If you are making it ahead, keep the tofu in its tub, the peeled eggs in a covered bowl and the dressing in a jar, all refrigerated, for up to 1 day; slice and assemble only when the table is set. Once dressed, it does not keep, and it does not reheat.

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This is the companion recipe to Century Egg Tofu: Shanghai's Answer to August. Read the story, then cook the dish.