"Chicken Tofu Blossom" is Silky, Sweet, and Savory—A Classic Sichuan Dish Makes a Comeback in Taiwan

Reported by Chen Zi-Yin / Taipei

The numbing, aromatic, and spicy flavors of Sichuan cuisine are beloved by many food enthusiasts. As cooking continues to innovate, traditional Sichuan flavors have become even more treasured, and some classic dishes have become hard to find in Taiwan;


like this "Chicken Tofu Blossom," a classic old dish in Sichuan cuisine that has become rare in Taiwan. (Photo / Reporter Chen Zi-Yin)
"I’ve always been trying to make Chicken Tofu Blossom, but I could never quite capture the flavor I remembered. This trip to Beijing finally let me learn how to make it properly."The Chicken Tofu Blossom that Chef A-Man speaks of is a rare classic in traditional Sichuan cuisine, characterized by its silky texture and sweet taste. The most challenging part is the "shaping" process,

 
 
which requires exceptional skill from the chef. The dish uses chicken breast meat blended with water and egg whites into a paste, which is then strained and mixed in a one-to-one ratio. It is then combined with broth from an old hen that has been simmered for over four hours, all placed together in a clay pot. The heat and timing during cooking must be just right to achieve the silky texture of the tofu blossom.

Additionally, Taipei’s Ambassador Hotel takes advantage of its regional strengths by incorporating seafood into classic Sichuan dishes. For example, in "Beijing Scallion and Spicy Flatfish," Chef Zhang Qifeng modified the traditional boiling method to a blanching technique using low-temperature oil to cook the flatfish gently, achieving the refreshing taste preferred by Taiwanese diners. In "Spicy Treasure Red Crab Clay Pot," the crab meat is deep-fried at high heat to lock in its freshness, then combined with rice cakes, celery, Sichuan spices, and red crab in a braised pot. The rice cakes absorb the sweetness and spices from the crab meat, creating a rich variety of textures.

Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Ambassador Hotel’s Deputy Chef Wu Junming presents "Kiss of Summer," a delicate knife skills dish. Pork skin is braised to release its gelatin, then pressed together with pork lips marinated in various spices and moderately fatty cheek meat for a day to bind them, before being chilled and set. The mixture is then sliced into 0.1 cm-thick pieces using expert knife techniques and stacked into a tower shape. The sauce is made from a proprietary red oil blend with chili powder, star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom.


This year, the Chef Team from Ambassador Hotel once again traveled to Beijing to study and exchange culinary skills with the Beijing Meizhou Dongpo Catering Group on the mainland. Their goal is to recreate classic Sichuan dishes that are rarely seen in Taiwan. Starting now, you can enjoy these authentic Sichuan-flavored dishes at Ambassador Hotels in Taipei, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung.

Taipei Ambassador Hotel & Resorts: October 15 to January 14, 2014
Hsinchu Ambassador Hotel & Resorts: October 18 to November 8
Kaohsiung Ambassador Hotel & Resorts: October 14 to November 30 (Six new dishes launched each week; choose one cold dish and one hot dish for NT$688 plus 10% service charge)
Other items are priced à la carte, ranging from NT$220 to NT$1,700, including a bowl of chicken tofu flower for NT$220.