Salt and pepper fried tofu
- Prep time: 30 mins
- Cooking time: 1 hour
- Serves: 4 people
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Difficulty:
This next recipe involves frying, so make sure an adult helps you with that!
Ingredients & Equipment
Tofu500g extra firm tofu
For Frying
Neutral oil such as avocado
Spice Mix For Sprinkling
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp white pepper or finely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
Tofu Coating
1/2 cup cornstarch plus 1-2 tbsp more if needed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
For Sautéing
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 medium red or white onion diced
2 tbsp minced garlic from 1 head garlic
3 long green chiles I used siling haba
3 bird’s eye chilies or other red chiles optional for spice
1 small green or red bell pepper
3 scallions sliced
Additional 1/4 tsp sea salt if needed
Method
Step 1 – preparing the tofu
Drain the excess water from the tofu for 10 to 15 minutes by wrapping them in paper towels and placing them on a flat surface before putting a plate or flat heavy surface on top.
Slice the tofu into little cubes!
Step 2 – spice mix for sprinkling
Mix spice mix ingredients well then set aside for later.
Step 3 – before coating and frying
Before you start coating your tofu, heat a large pan or wok over high heat with oil enough to submerge at least half of your tofu. I prefer to completely submerge them in oil to really evenly crisp the sides.
This step is important—you’ll want to make sure your oil is VERY hot before you cook the tofu, so get an adult to help!
Step 4 – coating and frying the tofu (See Pan-Frying Option in Notes Below)
In a large bowl, mix the cornstarch, salt, pepper, and 5 spice powder.
Check the heat of the oil. If you see small bubbles, you can test it out by getting a small piece of tofu.
Add in the first batch of coated tofu. Make sure not to overcrowd the pieces of tofu so they can all cook well.
Leave the tofu to cook for 4 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through as needed, until all sides are cooked through and crisp. You’ll know the cornstarch s cooked through when it dries up and gets firm and crisp. The tofu won’t turn to a golden brown—just a very pale yellow.
While the first batch of tofu cooks, you can go ahead and add in another batch of tofu cubes into the starch mixture to coat it well.
When the first batch is done cooking, remove the tofu cubes from the oil. Transfer it to a strainer or cooling rack to cool. Don’t place them on a plate with paper towels since they’ll get soggy. Do not cover them as well.
Add in the next batch of tofu cubes into the oil.
Set aside the fried tofu cubes while we sauté the rest of the ingredients. Be sure not to cover the tofu to prevent them from sogging.
Remove the oil from the wok/pan.
Stir frying
In the same pan/wok over high heat, add in some oil.
When hot, add in the onions and sauté for 1 minute.
Move the onions to the side of the pan/wok and then add in the garlic.
Add the rest of the stir fry ingredients, then fry for 1 minute
