Home / All Recipes / Chinese / Mun Tahu - Braised Tofu and Ground Chicken
Mun Tahu - Braised Tofu and Ground Chicken
An easy recipe to prepare mun tahu, a Chinese Indonesian braised silken tofu dish, with ground chicken, drenched in thick savory garlic ginger sauce.
Mun tahu is a classic Chinese Indonesian braised silken tofu dish, with ground chicken/pork/beef (or roughly chopped shrimp), drenched in thick savory garlic ginger sauce. This dish is what I make when I need to prepare something quick and I don’t want a lot of fuss, because I can be very happy with a bowl of rice and mun tahu. If you love tofu, you are going to love this dish. Or if you don’t love tofu, maybe this can be the dish to convince you otherwise.
A Chinese Indonesian Tofu Dish
Mun tahu literally means braised tofu, originally a Hakka Chinese dish, but is now widely enjoyed by many Indonesian. You can still order mun tahu from many old established Chinese restaurants in Jakarta.
Ground chicken and chopped shrimps are probably the two most popular choice of meat to go with mun tahu, though you can also order them with ground pork or ground beef.
I think of mun tahu as the non spicy version of mapo tofu. In fact, I would argue most Indonesians are more familiar with mun tahu compared to mapo tofu.
A bowl of silky tofu goodness
The star of mun tahu is definitely the tofu. Try to stick to silken variety if you can. It is now very easy to find tofu in my neighborhood groceries, though the grocery nearest to my house for some reason only stock extra firm variety.
For silken tofu, I am still forced to make a special trip to Asian market. But I found out that Amazon now carries Mori-Nu tofu, and the silken tofu from Mori-Nu is a no brainer for this dish.
If you prepare a lot of tofu dishes like me, you may also want to grab the firm tofu and extra firm tofu.
Not having to stash my tofu in refrigerator is such a revelation, since I am definitely that lady who fills her shopping cart with a dozen blocks of tofu in one trip, and later have to sacrifice half a shelf in the fridge just for tofu.
Something extra in the broth
The next little secret to make a great mun tahu lies in the stock. It is true you can make an okay mun tahu with water, but if you use chicken stock, or even Japanese dashi stock if that’s what you have, you are going to have an amazing mun tahu.
I would say that even if all you have in your kitchen is some stock granules instead of the real deal, you should still go for it. Only in last resort should one prepare mun tahu with water.
Mun Tahu - Braised Tofu and Ground Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 4 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih), minced
- 1 inch ginger, thinly sliced
- 250 gram ground chicken
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth (or Japanese dashi, or water)
- 1 block (340 gram) of silken tofu, cut into small cubes
- corn starch liquid (1 tablespoon corn starch + 2 tablespoon water)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat oil in a frying pan/wok and sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add ground chicken, stir and cook until no longer pink.
- Season with fish sauce, oyster sauce, ground white pepper, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
- Pour water, stir to mix well, and bring to a boil.
- Add tofu cubes and mix well. Once it boils again, thicken the sauce with corn starch liquid.
- Turn off heat, add the sliced scallions and sesame oil. Mix well, then transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with steamed white rice.
Comments
Your recipes look so delicious!! I want to browse by category but it only organizes the posts in the order you created them. Really wish I could search the site this way!
MaEE this for the 2nd time tonight...and loved it. So easy, simple and delicious. Thank you...can't wait to cook more of your recipes..... :)
Hi Leslie, I am so happy you love it :)
I made this last night, follow your instruction 100% and the dish was absolutely delicious! Usually I always find something is missing when I follow a recipe, but not with yours. Thank you for the recipes, I cannot wait to try your other recipes.
Thank you for the kind words. I hope you will like my other recipes as well.
Oh, I've never had this before, but it sounds absolutely delicious! I think I would like it with shrimp.
Good idea Pam! My hubby also loves the shrimp version. :)
What a delicious looking dish and so healthy. I have it bookmarked to make. Thanks so much for sharing.
This sounds so delicious. I don't think I've tried anything like it and I'm intrigued. Bookmarking for a dinner soon. It doesn't get much better than garlic + ginger!
Another garlic & ginger lover! I'm sure we love similar food Valentina. :)
This recipe looks amazing. Bookmarked to make it.
This looks so good. Perfect for the cool weather I'm having.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. I think it will be great if you update in recipe section that using broth is better option than just water. Because I think many people will just jump to the recipe without reading the story above. The recipe section only writes water instead of broth.
Good idea Caroline. I have updated the recipe :)
Hi Anita, thank you soooo much for this recipe. I have made it following your recipe and it tastes exactly like how my mom used to make it. It tastes like home. It was also a big hit at our home. Hubby and kids absolutely love it. I am a chinese indonesian living in Europe and so happy to find your blog. Your recipes are very clear and reliable. I can now make a lot of dishes myself when I am homesick. Thank you soooooo much! Greeting from Holland.
Thank you for your lovely comment Betty. This makes me so happy. I hope you will have fun recreating dishes that remind you of home and Mom. :)
Hi Anita, I love this recipe. My mom used to make it 1x a week. It reminded me of her cooking. I have made 3x so far. and it tastes just like hers. ( I did added a lightly beaten egg though). I did skipped the sugar. May I know why you put sugar in most of your recipe? Is it more an americanize recipe? thank you again!
Hi Kayla, I got most of my recipes from Mom, especially the Chinese dishes. Hers originally use MSG everywhere. I asked her what I can use to replace the MSG, and she told me to use sugar. That's the reason my recipes end up with sugar everywhere. :D
Great Idea Kayla on adding a beaten egg! I too struggle with the sugar in Anita’s recipes although I thank you for sharing it and they are wonderful and beautifully presented. Would love more recipes where we can omit sugar if possible. Thanks Anita!
Hi Caroline, I am simply trying to come up with recipes that resemble my Mom's dishes. Given that the quantity of sugar is quite small in most of my savory recipes, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, I am certain it is safe to omit the sugar without affecting the final dish too much.
Absolute Delicious. I added a beaten egg as suggested by Caroline. Next time, I would make it with less fish sauce. Thanks for sharing.
A bowl of yummy meal. I love to try new recipes and food of different cuisine. This is so easy and yet so flavorful . A combination of chicken and tofu sounds yum.
What delicious comfort food. So light and fresh.
Looks delicious! I love the soft tofu you use in this recipe - my favorite kind of tofu!
This looks so tasty, and quick to prepare too. I'm going to figure out a vegetarian substitute for the chicken and then give this a go. Thanks for the recipe!
This sounds absolutely delicious. Always looking for new dishes to try and this sounds like one to add to the meal plan!
Made it for the second time tonight. I didn’t have fish sauce so I skipped it but it still tastes good. I would say it tastes the same like the ones I had from Chinese restaurant when I was in Indonesia.
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