Egg-free Tofu Pork Patties - And They Don't Crumble!

August 22, 2015 3 Comments A+ a-

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After sharing numerous sweet-treat recipes for durian cakes (recipe here) and mooncakes (recipe here), I am happy to share a meat dish at last.  Several readers have also requested for recipes for young children, so this post is just perfect.

Here's an easy recipe, Egg-Free Tofu Pork Patties - And They Don't Crumble!, contributed by Cindy of The HOOting PostThe pork patties comprise meat and vegetables, and is a great 2-in-1 dish that we busy working adults can cook to give our bodies some nutrient boost for the day. I tried out this dish as well and the family simply loved the sweetness of the carrots oozing into the pork patties! 

PS: This recipe is very versatile. The original recipe is for frying, and I have also included the settings for steaming and airfrying too. Enjoy! :)
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Tofus are such delicate food that the slightest uncareful interaction with them can cause a messy affair.

Baby V has tried tofu in the usual manners (think: soup) and I’m excited to take up the challenge of using this fragile ingredient and turning it into a mess-free (okay, maybe less messy) dish that’s easy for baby led weaners.
With this experiment, I’m stoked to say that this is great for babies and toddlers with common food intolerances – NO EGG, NO WHEAT, NO NUTS!
Best of all, they don’t crumble! So that means less chaos and clean up. To take the experiment further, we took these patties out with us, so baby V had them out of home. Let’s see how it went!

Tofu Pork Patties
~ makes 6 patties

Ingredients:


  • 1/4 portion of Tofu – rinsed and mashed
  • Fist size of minced pork – washed and drained
  • 5 pieces Baby Carrots – washed and sliced, or cut as preferred. Some prefer to shred or dice, it’s entirely up to you on how “chewable” you like them for your bub. We usually give Vera textures and lumps and never blend her food.. okay, I don’t have a blender but that’s besides the point.
  • 10 leaves of Kale – washed and chopped roughly
Seasoning for meat (optional):


  • Sprinkles of McCormick Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
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Steps:
1. Marinate minced meat with above seasonings, cover bowl with cling wrap and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes. Skip seasonings if you prefer otherwise. Proceed with the latter.
2. In a separate bowl, mix kale, tofu and baby carrots. Drain any liquid and cover bowl with cling wrap and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes.
3. 30 minutes later, drain liquids or condensation in bowls. Mix ingredients together and it would look like this (see picture below).
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4. Heat pan over medium fire. Pour olive oil/butter onto pan. Using a spoon or by hand, shape the mixture into desired shape and size, and place them onto pan.

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5. Pan fry till golden brown. They should look drier too and it’s normal if some parts get charred. (*Remove charred portions before feeding.) Allow to cool slightly before offering baby.

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TA-DA!! Here are the Tofu Pork Patties that won’t crumble! I’ve been trying to get hold of kale for a while – they are not available very often – but these superfoods are getting less credit than they deserve.
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Baby V has been eating plenty of spinach, so now is a time for change! KALE, finally! Source: prevention.com
Baby V has been eating plenty of spinach, so now it's time for a change.
KALE, finally! (Source: prevention.com)

We brought them out in a Zojirushi Thermal Food Jar, well, of course it doesn’t keep it warm (who were we trying to kid?!) since there are only 6 loose pieces dancing in the jar. Baby V gets to eat certain adult meals now that she’s older, so these patties would complement the food options. As she ate the patties, her legs were swinging and she started bouncing in her seat – swell moment for mummy as that meant these had her stamp of approval! WOOHOO!! SUCCESS!!
We were at Food for Thought and hubs was having Banana Pancakes while I had Grilled Salmon. The little one had the best of everything: Pancakes (carbs), Bananas (fruit), Salmon (protein) and of course her Tofu Patties! Her gleeful expression said it all! :D
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Tips:
  • This recipe is highly versatile – you could switch the meats to fish, chicken or beef. The same with the rest of the ingredients but I have a thing for a “balanced” dish, so I’d go for meat and veggie usually, depending on what we can find at the supermarket.
  • For tofu, not exactly necessary to go for the harder types, as we found the one we used worked great for us! Some folks are concerned with the GMO aspect of soy; consider organic options if you prefer.
  • If seasoning is not your thing, consider adding cheese for extra calcium and savoury touch. Both kale and tofu are neutral-tasting.
  • For extra crunch, try adding water chestnut or turnips.
  • For extra texture, coat with breadcrumbs or biscuit crumbs on the outside so they have a crisp “skin” on.
  • Cooking style: This would work great with an Air Fryer too!


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Thank you, Cindy, for sharing this lovely recipe! The original recipe can be found here.



For Steaming

If you would like to steam this dish, after step #3 (see original recipe above), 


  • Steam over medium-high fire for 15 min.
  • Slice open one of the patties to test-check for any pink-ness. If so, you can continue steaming for another 5 min more. Enjoy!!




Before


After


For Airfying

If you would like to airfry this dish, after step #3 (see original recipe above), 


  • Preheat the airfryer at 180 degrees for 3 min.
  • Lightly coat the baking pan with oil.
  • Airfry at 180 degrees for 6 min. 
  • Flip the patties over and continue for another 6 min. Enjoy!!



Before
After
(Mine were a little overcooked at 200 degrees but I just removed the charred bits.

180 degrees would be perfect!) 

If you have tried this recipe too, share your photos with us on Facebook!
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3 comments

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Yum Girl
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25 August 2015 at 00:11 delete

Welcome to Yum Goggle! We are following you on all available social media although we could only find Face Book - if you will follow us on all your social media, we can tag you as we promote your post across up to 14 platforms available to us. Thanks, Kelli at Yum Goggle!

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25 August 2015 at 23:36 delete

Hi, yes we are currently available on this blog and Facebook, and yes! following you on FB too. Thanks Kelli, love Yum Goggle :)

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12 November 2015 at 08:59 delete

The cookies looks very crunchy! :) I love how high-tech Philip's products are :)
And super thanks for sharing that recipe, will definitely try it.. I love cooking!
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Sarah Coburn

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