Aging it - Pi Dan (Chinese)

Pi Dan Tofu (Taiwanese)

Ingredients

2 Pi Dan shelled ("paper" between shell and egg removed)
1 handful of Japanese sushi ginger (beni shoga)
1 block of "silken" tofu
Bonito flakes (Japanese: katsuoboshi) or dried sushi seaweed (nori)
enough soy paste to cover

Method

•  Find a nice plate - one that will easily accommodate the whole block of tofu and the other ingredients (even if they spread out - which they will, once people start to eat).  
• Take the tofu out of its packaging taking care to retain it as a whole block throughout the process of preparing this dish.  I find it easiest to cut away the packaging as much as possible and drain out any liquid before inverting the tofu onto the plate.  Make sure the tofu is centered on the plate.  
• With a very sharp knife that is oiled with sesame oil (or other  oil such as peanut oil, walnut oil or veggie oil), cut the pi dan into shapes that you like.  I usually cut lengthwise into wedges as in the picture above.  Rounds and half-moons or other fancy shapes are good too.  Things to look out for are that the egg's skin (the translucent, rubbery part that used to be egg white)  can easily detach from the yolk; you also should make sure that the knife is cleaned and re-oiled between cuts - I use an oil soaked paper towel for this.  Keep eggs aside.  
• Take shoga by the handful out of the bottle (or other packaging) and pretending that you are a sushi chef, press the liquid out using the palms of both hands.  Then separate into independent slices and keep aside.  
• By now there is probably more liquid in the plate with the tofu.... drain again.  Next, and with a long sharp knife, slice through the tofu with the knife blade kept parallel to the plate so that the whole block is sliced in half sideways (i.e. there is a top layer sitting on the bottom layer).  if the knife is sharp and thin and the cut is made well, you should not notice that it is in fact two pieces of tofu!
• Rinse the knife in cold water and cut lengthwise and crosswise so that the tofu is in medium sized cubes - each cube being big enough for a person to take with chopsticks.  The block of tofu should remain intact otherwise.  Here again,a  sharp knife is indispensable so that the tofu still looks like it is one solid block.
• Now, gently pour soy paste all over the top surface of the tofu block.  The cuts will show up as the soy paste sinks between them.  Make sure that the block of tofu remains as intact as possible.
• Arrange egg slices on top of the block of tofu 
• Arrange ginger slices around the plate and on top of the tofu with the eggs
• Right before serving, scatter the bonito flakes liberally over the tofu - they will start to move and wave  which is part of the show.  Nori doesn't work as well but is nonetheless a very tasty addition - slightly toasted and crushed over the dish.
• Best to sprinkle the last ingredients after the dish is taken to the table.