← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 400 g firm tofu, cut into 2.5 cm cubes and patted dry
• 5 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 250 ml vegetable oil, for shallow frying
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 Green chilli, finely sliced (optional)
• 2 Spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp White pepper
• ¼ tsp Chinese five-spice (optional)
• ½ tsp Sugar

Method

1. Mix the seasoning-salt ingredients in a small bowl. Toss the dried tofu cubes in the cornflour until evenly coated.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the tofu in batches for 4–5 min, turning, until crisp and golden on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper.
3. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil. Add the garlic, chillies and spring onion and stir over medium heat for 1 minute, until fragrant but not browned.
4. Return the tofu, sprinkle over most of the seasoning salt and toss for 30 seconds. Taste, add more if you like, and serve immediately while crisp.

Tips

• Press the tofu between kitchen paper under a heavy board for 10 minutes for the crispiest crust.
• The same seasoning salt is great on fried squid, prawns or pork chops.

Sources

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

RecipeTin Eats Made With Lau Christine's Recipes