Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Salted Fish, Chicken and Tofu Pot
鹹魚雞粒豆腐煲
Recipe overview
This Hong Kong-style clay-pot dish uses a small amount of mei xiang salted fish for deep savoury flavour, with tender chicken pieces, pan-fried firm tofu and onion. Rinse the fish, remove every bone, and taste only after the sauce is made. Salted fish is already salty, so no salt is needed and extra light soy sauce should be added only if necessary.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 450 g Boneless chicken thigh (Cut into roughly 2.5 cm pieces; pat dry before marinating)
- 450 g Firm tofu (Cut into roughly 3 cm cubes; pat dry before pan-frying)
- 40 g Mei xiang salted fish (Rinse and soak briefly for 5 minutes; remove every bone and dice to 0.5 cm)
- 1, about 180 g Onion (Cut into 2 cm chunks and stir-fry with aromatics)
- 3 cloves Garlic (Minced; add last so it does not burn)
- 15 g Ginger (Fine strips for stir-frying)
- 2 stalks Spring onions (Whites for the pot; greens for finishing)
- 250 ml Unsalted chicken stock (Base for the clay-pot sauce)
- As needed Water (Only for rinsing and soaking salted fish; do not add to the pot sauce)
Chicken marinade
- 1 teaspoon Light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Omit if not using wine)
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
- A pinch White pepper
Clay-pot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Oyster sauce
- Up to 1/2 teaspoon Light soy sauce (Add only after tasting near the end; omit if the salted fish is salty enough)
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Dark soy sauce (Optional, for colour only)
Cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon Cooking oil (For pan-frying tofu and stir-frying aromatics, not extra seasoning)
02
Tools
- Brown clay pot with lid
- frying pan
- large bowl
- small bowl
- strainer
- knife
- chopping board
- tablespoon
- teaspoon
- wooden spoon
- kitchen paper
- food tongs
- chopsticks and heat-resistant gloves
- chopsticks and heat-resistant gloves
03
Steps
Step 1
Rinse and briefly soak the salted fish
Rinse the salted fish, cover with water in a small bowl and soak for 5 minutes. Discard the water; do not soak for long.
Step 2
Remove bones and dice
Pat dry, break the fish apart, and use tweezers to remove hard and fine bones. Dice it into 0.5 cm pieces.
Step 3
Prepare the chicken
Trim visible sinew and excess fat from chicken thigh. Cut evenly into 2.5 cm pieces and pat dry.
Step 4
Marinate the chicken
Gently mix chicken with light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, sesame oil and white pepper. Rest for 15 minutes; do not add salted fish or salt.
Step 5
Prepare the tofu
Rinse firm tofu quickly, cut into 3 cm cubes and pat every surface dry with kitchen paper.
Step 6
Prepare the aromatics
Cut onion into 2 cm chunks, mince garlic and cut ginger into strips. Separate spring-onion whites and greens, and keep salted-fish dice separate.
Step 7
Pan-fry the tofu
Heat about two-thirds of the oil in a frying pan. Add tofu over medium heat, wait about 2 minutes before turning, and remove when pale golden.
Step 8
Sear the chicken
Use the remaining oil over medium heat. Leave chicken for 1 minute before turning; remove when the outside is white or lightly golden but the centre is not fully cooked.
Step 9
Fry the salted fish and aromatics
In the clay pot over medium heat, fry salted-fish dice without extra oil for 20–30 seconds. Add ginger, spring-onion whites and onion for 2 minutes, then garlic for 20 seconds; do not burn it.
Step 10
Make the clay-pot sauce
Add unsalted stock, oyster sauce, sugar and dark soy sauce. Bring to a gentle boil and taste. Do not add the sauce-group light soy at first; add up to 1/2 teaspoon only if needed.
Step 11
Return and braise
Return chicken and simmer on medium-low for 3 minutes. Add tofu, push gently from the bottom, cover and cook 5 minutes until chicken is cooked and tofu stays intact.
Step 12
Reduce and serve
Uncover and reduce over low heat for 2–3 minutes, keeping some flowing sauce. Scatter spring-onion greens, rest 1 minute, and check again for fine fish bones before serving.
Common mistakes
- Not rinsing salted fish: the dish becomes too salty; rinse and soak briefly.
- Soaking it too long: its aroma disappears; keep soaking short.
- Leaving fish bones in: this is a choking risk; inspect every piece.
- Adding salted fish to the chicken marinade: chicken becomes overly salty; fry it separately.
- Frying wet tofu: it splatters and will not brown; dry it fully.
- Turning tofu too early: it sticks and breaks; wait about 2 minutes.
- Fully cooking chicken in the first fry: it becomes dry later; sear only the outside.
- Burning salted fish: it tastes bitter; fry only 20–30 seconds.
- Adding all soy sauce before tasting: the dish becomes too salty; adjust at the end.
- Stirring tofu roughly: it breaks; push gently from below.
- Boiling sauce dry: there is no clay-pot sauce left; keep it flowing.
- Treating it as low-sodium food: salted fish is high in sodium; it is unsuitable for low-sodium needs.
Tips
A small amount of salted fish is enough. Ask the fish seller to cut it, but check bones again at home. Fish-bone tweezers help with fine bones. Use firm tofu only. Do not turn tofu immediately after adding it. Keep chicken pieces similar in size. Omit Shaoxing wine without replacing it with water. Use unsalted chicken stock. Consider light soy only after tasting. Push tofu gently with a wooden spoon. Serve with plain rice and plain vegetables. People with hypertension, kidney disease or a low-sodium diet should follow their clinician’s advice.
