Salted Chilli Crispy Tofu
Ingredients:
Tofu
Approx. 450g firm tofu – cubed (drained)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp of cornflour
Large pinch of salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
Vegetables
1 onion sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 tbsp of fresh ginger finely minced
1 large clove of garlic finely minced
1 fresh red chilli finely sliced
Spring onion for garnishing
Salt and Chilli spice mix (you will probably only need half of this, dependant on your taste)
1 tsp of five spice
1/2 tbsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
½ tbsp sugar
½ tsp of dried red chilli flakes (OPTIONAL)
Sesame oil
Vegetable oil for frying
Steamed basmati rice to serve
Method:
1. Preheat oven 180C.
2. To prepare the tofu, cube and set on top of kitchen roll to absorb the excess water for at least 10 min, will need to change the kitchen roll after 5 minutes. Then drizzle sesame oil and soy sauce over the tofu and toss.
3. Toss the seasoned tofu in the cornflour and a pinch of salt and pepper mix till fully coated. In a heavy based pan add at least 1cm of vegetable oil in the pan and bring up to just boiling but not smoking, to check it is ready to fry the tofu, drop a little bit of the flour mixture into the oil to check, if it bubbles straight away then it is ready. Add the tofu pieces into the pan in a couple of batches and brown all sides. Once browned remove carefully and put on a grill tray and put into the preheated oven to keep it crisp while making the rest of the dish.
4. Tip out the hot oil into a bowl (wait till it is cold and filter the floaty bits with a piece of kitchen roll and reuse another time).
5. In a wok or large frying pan add a little bit of veg oil, add in the onions first and cook for a couple of minutes then add peppers. Then add in the garlic and ginger and then chilli. Cook for a couple of minutes till the ginger and garlic become aromatic and fragrant.
6. Add in half of the salt and chilli mix and mix through the vegetables, then quickly add in the crispy tofu and drizzle about 1 tsp of sesame oil around the edge of the wok and toss everything together so it is coated in the salt and chilli mix. Taste and add more of the mix if you need it.
7. It is now ready to serve with the rice.
