Tofu with caramel and sichuan pepper

Name: Tofu with caramel and sichuan pepper
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese recipes
Ingredients: For the tofu:; 396g block firm tofu (we used Cauldron, from large supermakets); Olive oil for frying; 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted briefly in a dry pan until fragrant; Crispy fried shallots (from a tub) and micro coriander to serve; For the caramel sauce; 125g soft brown sugar; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; ½ tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar; 25ml light soy sauce; ½ tbsp chilli bean paste; 1 tsp grated fresh ginger; 1 garlic clove, crushed; ¼ tsp sichuan pepper; ½ bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced

Published: 14 Sep 18
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

”Tofu has been misunderstood by some as a bland rubbery filler food, but when cooked well it’s surprisingly addictive. Take the time to really dry out the tofu and crisp up the edges.” – Ravinder Bhogal

Tofu tossed in a stir-fry also makes an easy weeknight win.

Serves 4
Hands-on time 20 min

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Ingredients

For the tofu:

396g block firm tofu (we used Cauldron, from large supermakets)
Olive oil for frying
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted briefly in a dry pan until fragrant
Crispy fried shallots (from a tub) and micro coriander to serve

For the caramel sauce

125g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar
25ml light soy sauce
½ tbsp chilli bean paste
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ tsp sichuan pepper
½ bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced

Method

Put the tofu block on a plate between 2 thick wads of kitchen paper. Press down firmly to squeeze out as much moisture as possible, then use more kitchen paper to pat the surface of the tofu block dry.
Heat a glug of oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the tofu on both sides for 4-5 minutes in total until crisp and golden. Remove from the pan (reserve the pan) and set aside.
To make the caramel sauce, put the sugar and 3 tbsp cold water in the pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves and turns into an amber caramel. Add the remaining caramel sauce ingredients and stir to combine.
Return the tofu to the pan and baste in caramel sauce. Slice thickly, then serve on a platter, drizzled with the remaining caramel sauce and topped with the toasted sesame seeds, crispy shallots and micro coriander.

Recipe from April 2018 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 324kcal
Fat: 14.7g (2.4g saturated)
Protein: 13.7g
Carbohydrates: 32.9g (32.1g sugars)
Fibre: 2.5g
Salt: 1g

delicious. tips

We used a 70g pack of Growing Underground Asian Micro Herbs Mix from Ocado. You could use micro herbs from finefoodspecialist.com or use chopped fresh coriander leaves instead.

Find Chinese black rice vinegar online at souschef.co.uk. Or mix
½ tsp balsamic vinegar with ½ tsp rice wine vinegar and ½ tbsp water.

Chilli bean paste is available at souschef.co.uk. If you can’t find it, use sriracha sauce (from large supermarkets) instead.
Any leftover sauce will keep in an airtight container for up to a week

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Tofu with caramel and sichuan pepper

Ingredients

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