serves
4
prep
10 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) vegetable oil
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) silken tofu, drained and cut into 3 cm (1¼ inch) cubes
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced red Asian shallots
- 1 bird's eye chilli, finely sliced
- 4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 coriander (cilantro) sprigs, to garnish
Instructions
Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
Add the tofu, cooking it in two batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel to drain.
Transfer the deep-frying oil into a heatproof deep bowl, leaving about 1 tbsp of oil in the wok.
Add the garlic, Asian shallots and chilli to the wok, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add the tomato, salt, sugar and fish sauce. Stir and allow the tomato to break down.
Add 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the crisp tofu, spring onions and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as you want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.
Garnish with coriander.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
