Larry's Chinese Tofu, Egg and Prawn My World Kitchen

MUSIC PLAYS

Whose kitchen are we going to today?

Hi, I'm Larry. Come on in, come on in.

-This is my mum, Jun.

-Hi.

-And this is my kitchen.

-Hi.

Today, I'm going to cook steamed tofu, egg and prawn

because it's my favourite dish.

Larry's mum has taught him

a special way of cooking steamed tofu, egg and prawn.

Larry's mum is Chinese and her family originally come from China.

China is a very large country in East Asia.

More people live in China than in any other country in the world.

Cooking is very important in Chinese life

and Chinese food has lots of different flavours.

There's sweet, sour,

salty, bitter and spicy.

Most food is cooked in small bite-sized pieces

and eaten with chopsticks instead of knives and forks.

Larry has washed his hands, put on his apron and he's ready to cook.

Today, I'm going to cook steamed tofu, egg and prawn for my friends.

And he's invited Lewis,

Anya and Morgan to taste one of the main ingredients

before they come round for a very special Chinese meal later.

What's that?

It's all squishy.

-Eurgh!

-It's tofu.

No-one seems very keen on tofu so far.

Tastes soggy.

Don't want to eat any more of it.

It's disgusting.

Let's see if Larry can change their minds,

because it's one of the main ingredients

in his tofu, egg and prawn recipe.

As well as silken tofu, you will need eggs, salt,

water, prawns,

broccoli, sesame oil,

spring onions, soy sauce and fish sauce.

Now we wash the prawns in a colander.

I'm washing them to get rid of the dirt.

Add a pinch of salt and then give them another rinse.

Now I'm going to pat them dry with a kitchen towel.

That's right, Larry.

You must wash your hands after handling raw prawns.

Crack some eggs.

In Chinese, we say egg as "jidan".

Wipe your hands again...

..add a pinch of salt...

I'm going to use chopsticks to stir them.

Chopsticks are things that Chinese people use to eat.

Then pour the eggs over the prawns.

Now for spring onions.

This is what we call top-and-tailing.

Then carefully cut up the rest of the spring onions.

Add half of them to the egg mixture...

Two more bits.

I will save these bits for later.

Then take some water.

You put two dessert spoons of sesame oil.

Oh, sesame oil.

I'm now going to put one spoon of soy sauce.

Soy sauce.

Now I'm going to just put this sauce.

That's fish sauce. Oh-ho!

Give it all a lovely mix,

and add it to your eggy mixture.

Now it's time for my most important ingredient.

You know what that is, don't you?

That's right, it's tofu.

Tofu is made from soy beans, which grow on the soy bean plant.

Soy beans grow inside pods on the plant

and these are the main ingredient in tofu.

Some people think that tofu

was accidentally invented in ancient China

when dried and ground soy beans were mixed with sea water.

No-one really knows for sure how tofu was first made.

Now it's so popular, it's eaten all over Asia

and enjoyed around the world.

The tofu has been left to drain on kitchen paper and is ready to use.

I'm going to cut my tofu into cubes.

Don't cut them too small otherwise they will snap in little bits.

I'm going to snap my broccoli.

When you snap your broccoli, you can use both parts.

I think that's enough.

Now I'm going to pour my egg mixture into here.

And make sure you push everything down

so it's covered in the eggy mixture.

There. Mum, Mum! I'm ready!

Ask a grown-up to cook it for you.

Larry's mum Jun is using a steamer to cook his dish

in a traditional way.

Or you could cook it at home in a normal oven.

To make Larry's steamed tofu, egg and prawn in your home,

first wash the prawns. Sprinkle them with a little salt.

And wash the salt off.

Then pat them dry.

Remember to wash your hands after touching raw prawns.

Then crack your eggs.

Check there's no shell in it...

..and tip them into a jug.

Add another pinch of salt and whisk the eggs.

Now tip the eggs over the prawns in a bowl.

Then top and tail the spring onions.

And carefully cut into small pieces.

Add some of these to the eggy mixture.

Next, take some water and add sesame oil...

..soy sauce...

..and fish sauce.

Mix it all together...

..and pour it into the egg and prawn mixture.

Then whisk it up again.

The silken tofu has been left to drain on kitchen paper

and is ready to use.

Carefully cut it into small pieces.

Place them in an ovenproof bowl.

Then snap broccoli, just like this,

and add it to your bowl.

Tip the egg and prawn mixture all over the tofu and broccoli.

Make sure it's all covered in the eggy mixture.

Now ask a grown-up to put the bowl onto a deep baking tray

and cover it with two layers of kitchen foil, just like this.

Pour water into the baking tray

and get them to put it into the oven for you.

Now, there's just enough time for Larry to get the table ready

for his very special Chinese meal.

Today, I'm going to teach my friends how to use chopsticks.

Wow, that'll be fun!

DOORBELL RINGS

Larry's table looks brilliant, doesn't it?

Perfect for his Chinese meal.

-ALL:

-Hello.

Now everyone's washed their hands and is ready to eat.

Whoa! This is awesome.

-What does it say here?

-It says good luck.

-What are these?

-These are chopsticks.

I've never seen chopsticks before.

Well, you're going to use them today.

Here's Mum with Larry's tofu, egg and prawn.

This is what Chinese people call steamed tofu, egg and prawn.

Well done, Larry. That looks delicious.

And Mum's even decorated the top of it with

the rest of the spring onions.

The prawns look really nice.

My mum has made some rice to go with the steamed tofu, egg and prawn.

-Yay.

-So, how do you use chopsticks, then, Larry?

Put these like that, and then it's easy.

You need a finger to trap the chopsticks, not to go like that.

I am.

It takes a bit of practice.

That's it, that's it. You nearly got it.

Now no-one was too sure about tofu when they first tried it.

Do you think they'll change their mind with Larry's

tofu, egg and prawn?

-What do you think my special ingredient is?

-Tofu.

-Tofu.

Yes, it is tofu. Is it better than before or is it worse?

I really like this tofu in this.

This is really nice, Larry.

I think it's really good, isn't it?

Yeah, it's really good together.

Brilliant. Well done, Larry.

They do like the taste of tofu after all.

Thank you for coming to My World Kitchen.