Although this is a pretty spicy meal it is also sweet and I find the two balance each other out. It is very simple despite the three types of soy sauce and you really only need to serve with some greens and rice for a very healthy and filling meal. The original chef is from the Uk and his name is Yotam Ottolenghi if you are interested in discovering more meals like this one.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of fresh tofu
- Cornflour/cornstarch, to dust the tofu
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 stick butter
- 12 small shallots peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 red chillies thinly sliced
- 12 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp chopped ginger
- 4 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
- 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 4 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 16 small, thin spring onions, cut into segments 1inch long
- jasmine rice for serving
Directions
- Cut the tofu into inch square blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess.
- Pour in enough oil so it just comes up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat.
- Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.
- Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter.
- Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft.
- While you wait, crush the peppercorns, using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. They should be quite coarse.
- When the shallots and chillies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the crushed pepper.
- Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.