Salt and Pepper Tofu

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:00:10 GMT

Step 1

CHOP your aromatics. Roughly chop the shallot, chop the spring onion, thinly slice the red chilli and roughly mince the garlic - you want keep it kinda chunky.

Step 2

PRESS THE TOFU. Cut your tofu into bricks and place between two kitchen towels. Place a few chopping boards on top and lightly press for at around 30 mins.

Step 3

Meanwhile PREPARE FLOUR COATING. In a medium bowl place the flour, cornstarch, table salt, white pepper, MSG, ground Sichuan pepper and ground five spice.

Step 4

PREPARE SECRET SALT MIX. In a small bowl place salt, pepper, MSG, Sichuan pepper and five spice. Set aside.

Step 5

LIGHTLY FRY GARLIC. On low heat, heat 1-2 cups of oil in a wok. You don’t want to rush or overheat the oil as garlic can burn quickly and will bitter. Gently fry the garlic til lightly golden and crisp - the bigger pieces don’t have to go fully golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove garlic from oil and drain on some paper towel. Set aside. Turn the heat off.

Step 6

FIRST COATING OF TOFU. Use paper towel or kitchen towel to lightly pat tofu pieces dry. Then coat all tofu pieces in the flour coating, tapping excess off. After 5 minutes you’ll notice the moisture from the tofu has absorbed some of the flour.

Step 7

PREPARING TO FRY. Bring the tofu and flour close to the stove for ease. We want to do a second coating of the flour right before we shallow fry the tofu. Make sure there’s enough oil to submerge half the tofu. We want the oil to be HOT before frying, you can test this by placing a wooden chopstick in and touching the base of the pan - if air bubbles rise very rapidly from the tip, it’s ready to go. Or you can sprinkle in a pinch of the flour and if it sizzles very rapidly it’s ready. Every stove is different but cooking on gas, I use about a low-medium heat. We are going to fry in batches according to how many pieces you can comfortably fit in the pan without overcrowding to avoid the pieces sticking together.

Step 8

SECOND COATING OF TOFU and FRYING THE TOFU. Turn on the heat of the oil and coat your first batch of tofu in the flour mix. Once the oil is hot, carefully place all tofu pieces in, frying for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway. Drain tofu on some paper towel and repeat in batches til all tofu is cooked. Turn off the oil and remove oil from the pan.

Step 9

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. If there is flour residue, be sure to clean off with some paper towel but you don’t need to wash the pan. Heat up 1 tbsp oil and fry shallots and a few chilli slices for 1 minute. Add in the tofu, spring onions and crispy garlic and toss for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, sprinkle over half the secret salt mix and toss before plating up. Add a final sprinkle of the salt right before serving for a powdered look.

Step 10

You can airfry the tofu but it won't be nearly as crispy. Place tofu in a single layer, making sure the pieces don't touch. Be sure to give the tofu a VERY GENEROUS spray of oil, making sure to flip and spray ALL SIDES as otherwise you'll get a powdery mouthfuls. Airfry at 200ºC for 9 minutes, flip and spray again with oil, and airfry for another 9 minutes.

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