← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 400 g firm tofu, pressed and patted dry
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp raw sticky rice, for toasted rice powder
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1½ tsp Thai chilli flakes, or to taste
• 3 Asian shallots (or ½ red onion), thinly sliced
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
• 2 Spring onion, sliced
• 1 little gem or cabbage leaves (optional)
• 1 Cucumber, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Toast the raw sticky rice in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 6–8 min, shaking often, until deep golden. Cool and grind to a coarse powder.
2. Crumble the tofu into small pieces with your fingers. Heat the oil in the same pan over medium-high heat and fry the tofu for 8–10 min, stirring now and then, until it is golden, dry and slightly crisp at the edges.
3. Take the pan off the heat. Add the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar and chilli flakes and toss so the warm tofu soaks them up.
4. Toss in the shallots, mint, coriander, spring onion and 1–2 tbsp of the rice powder. Taste for sour, salty and hot, then serve with lettuce cups and cucumber.

Tips

• Press the tofu under a heavy pan for 15 minutes first; drier tofu fries crisper.
• Swap the soy sauce for tamari to make it gluten-free. Fried mushrooms are a tasty addition.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hungry in Thailand Marion's Kitchen Simply Suwanee