If the salted egg yolks aren't cooked yet, you want to boil the salted eggs or steam the salted egg yolks until cooked through. Use a fork to mash the egg yolks. Save the salted egg whites in the fridge for other use such as making fried rice, etc
If you use egg tofu like I did, cut into about 3/4-inch thick. If you use regular tofu, cut into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes
Coat the tofu pieces with cornstarch and shake off any excess starch. Let them sit for 15 minutes
To air-fry the tofu:
Spray the tofu pieces with some oil. Arrange the tofu pieces, oil-side down, on the air fryer basket. Spray with more oil on top. Air fry at 375 F for 12-15 minutes. Flip the tofu pieces over half-way through cooking so they brown evenly
To fry the tofu:
Preheat some oil over medium heat, enough for frying. When you insert a skewer into the oil, you'll see lots of bubbles around it. The oil is ready
Add the tofu pieces coated with cornstarch and fry until golden brown. Put an absorbent paper towel
Prepare the sauce:
Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Fry the curry leaves until crispy, which takes less than a minute or so. Remove from the pan and set aside
Add garlic, shallots, and chili (if using) and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add the mashed salted egg yolks. The yolks will turn foamy and smell really fragrant as you cook them. Turn off the heat and add the fried tofu pieces and curry leaves back in and gently toss them to make sure the sauce coats the tofu pieces evenly. Serve immediately as part of multi-course meal