Braised Silken Tofu with Minced Meat and Egg

ByTongTongEats 31 May 202631 May 2026

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If you’re looking for a quick, comforting, high protein dinner that comes together in under 20 minutes and tastes like something your mum would make on a weeknight, this braised silken tofu with minced meat and egg is exactly that. Soft, silky tofu sitting in a glossy savoury sauce, topped with fragrant seasoned minced pork and a layer of gently set egg. It’s humble, deeply satisfying, and absolutely delicious over a bowl of steamed white rice.

The technique here is simple but really clever. The minced pork gets cooked first in half the sauce until fragrant and slightly caramelised, then set aside. The tofu goes into the same pan, the whisked egg gets poured around it, and the pork goes back on top. The lid goes on and everything steams together gently until the egg is just set and silky. The result is a dish where every component has soaked up that gorgeous savoury sauce and every mouthful has a little bit of everything.

This dish is also a brilliant high protein meal. Between the minced pork, three eggs, and the tofu, you’re getting a seriously impressive amount of protein in one bowl without any fuss or expensive ingredients. It’s the kind of recipe that proves you don’t need to spend a lot of money or a lot of time to eat really well on a weeknight.

Ingredients

200g silken or soft tofu
100g minced pork
3 eggs, whisked
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup water
3 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

To garnish:

Spring onion, finely chopped
Red chilli, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Mix the sauce

Before you turn on the stove, mix your sauce so it’s ready to go. In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp flour, and 1/3 cup water. Whisk thoroughly until the flour is completely dissolved and no lumps remain. The sauce should look smooth and uniform. Set aside next to the stove.

❤️ Tip: Make sure the flour is fully dissolved before cooking. Any undissolved lumps will cook into clumps in the finished sauce rather than giving you that gorgeous glossy coating. Whisk right to the bottom of the bowl where flour likes to settle.

2. Whisk the eggs

Crack all 3 eggs into a bowl and whisk until completely combined with no streaks of white remaining. Season with a small pinch of salt and set aside next to the stove so it’s ready to pour in at exactly the right moment.

❤️ Tip: Don’t overwhisk the eggs. You just want them fully combined and uniform. Overwhisked eggs can become foamy and won’t set as smoothly and silkily as gently whisked ones.

3. Cook the minced pork

Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add 100g minced pork and stir-fry, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, for about 2 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned with no raw pink remaining. Pour in half of the sauce mixture and stir through well. Season with black pepper to taste. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces and the pork looks glossy and well coated. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

❤️ Tip: Break the minced pork into the smallest pieces possible as it cooks so it distributes evenly over the tofu later. Large clumps of pork don’t spread as easily and give you an uneven result. The back of a spoon or a spatula works well for breaking it up.

4. Pan-fry the tofu and add the egg

In the same pan, add the remaining 2 tbsp cooking oil over medium heat. Gently place the 200g silken tofu into the pan. Let it sit undisturbed for about 1-2 minutes to develop a very light golden base. Silken tofu is extremely delicate so handle it as gently as possible and avoid moving it around.

Pour the whisked egg mixture evenly around and over the tofu, making sure it covers the surface around the tofu rather than just pooling in one spot. Spoon the cooked minced pork evenly over the top of everything.

Place the lid on the pan immediately, reduce the heat to low, and let everything steam together for about 2-3 minutes until the egg is just set and no longer runny. You want the egg silky and just cooked through, not rubbery and overdone. Pour the remaining half of the sauce evenly all over and around the tofu.

❤️ Tip: Watch the egg closely during this step. If it looks mostly set with just a slight wobble in the centre, take the pan off the heat immediately. The residual heat will finish it perfectly. A slightly underset egg is always better than an overcooked rubbery one.

5. Garnish and serve

Scatter a generous amount of finely chopped spring onion and red chilli over the top. Serve immediately straight from the pan with steamed white rice and spoon plenty of the sauce over the rice as well.

Extra Tips

1. Handle the silken tofu gently

Silken tofu is incredibly delicate and will break apart if handled roughly. Slide it carefully out of the packaging directly into the pan rather than picking it up with your hands. A wide spatula or a flat plate used to slide it in helps enormously. The goal is to keep it as intact as possible so the finished dish looks beautiful.

2. Minced pork vs other proteins

Minced pork works beautifully here because its fat content gives the sauce a lovely richness. Minced chicken or minced beef also work well if you prefer. For a lighter result, minced chicken keeps the dish feeling fresh and clean while still delivering excellent flavour and protein.

3. Storage and leftovers

This dish is best eaten fresh on the day it’s made. The silken tofu doesn’t reheat particularly well as it releases moisture and can become watery and fall apart. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day and reheat very gently in a pan over the lowest heat possible with the lid on.

Braised Silken Tofu with Minced Meat and Egg