Tofu is a chef’s gift. It’s so versatile you just can’t go wrong. When I can’t think what else to cook, it’s always tofu that comes to mind. And there’s a million things you can do with it.

The claypot tofu is one of our family favorites. It’s a one-dish meal, so easy and it’s got everything in it. When my kids were teething toddlers, I would feed them just the tofu with rice and a bit of gravy.

The idea of using the claypot is to keep the dish piping hot while you eat. So yes, this makes the perfect winter dish. Bleh, I wish we had winter here. I break out in perspiration whenever I eat this !

Okay, on with the recipe. As usual, I don’t really measure my ingredients so these numbers here are just to give you a rough idea. Go ahead and adjust the proportions to your liking.

• 3-4 squares of tofu, cut into smaller cubes and fried lightly ahead of time
• 10 medium-sized shrimps, deveined
• a handful of dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water to soften (you can also use fresh mushrooms)
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced into 3″ lengths
• spring (green) onion and cilantro, cut into 3″ lengths
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 2-3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Before I do anything else, I typically heat up some oil in my claypot and lightly fry the tofu cubes on medium heat. Frying hardens the outside of the tofu slightly so the cubes hold up better and won’t disintegrate to bits when you add all the other ingredients. When browned, carefully lift them onto a dish and set aside.

Add some oil to the claypot and give the garlic a quick stir or two till you can smell the fragrance. Turn up the heat. Add the carrots, shrimps, and mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.

Next add the tofu cubes and oyster sauce. Add 2-3 teaspoons of flour to 1/4 cup water to make a light gravy (yes, the gravy is super-tasty!) and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. I try not to stir the ingredients too much to avoid breaking up the tofu.

Season with a few drops of sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with spring onions and cilantro.

Remove the claypot from the fire straight to the dinner table and serve it directly from there. Be careful now! The claypot is very, very hot and so are its contents.

Be VERY careful handling it especially if you have young kids around. You want it keep the pot far from their reach so they won’t accidentally burn themselves touching the sides.

So simple, so yummy, so healthy, so soft even toothless toddlers and seniors will love it. What can I say?

If you liked this post, subscribe to our RSS feed for more recipes, restaurant reviews and mouth-watering updates. If you've tried this recipe or restaurant, drop us your comment or feedback.