Tofu is a delicious, magical, healthy and versatile ingredient – but I still hear complaints from people who can’t seem to get along with it. The most frequent feedback I hear is that the texture seems “damp and unpleasant”, or that the flavour is “bland and sour”.
Although the phrase: “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” makes me want to punch a wall, there is some truth in it. The same peppy, judgy approach can be applied to tofu: There is no such thing as bad tofu, just bad cooking. Texture too damp for you? Press the water out and deep fry it. Bland flavour? Add some smoky, salty, chilli notes to your dish. Sour? Douse it in honey.
When I visited Singapore a couple of years ago, my friend Joyce took me to a fantastic hawker market, where she introduced me to a delicious, deep-fried tofu dish – Tauhu Goreng. The tofu was crispy on the outside and yielding in the centre. It was slathered in a creamy, spicy, sauce, but the richness of the dish was neatly offset by some shredded carrot and cucumber – delivering both crunch and freshness. It was magnificent and I have since recreated it in my own kitchen.
On another occasion I tried a wonderful Korean dish, Tteokkochi. where boiled and fried rice cakes are lacquered with a sauce that is thick with honey and rich with gojuchang (a fermented rice paste spiked with chilli powder).
Inspired by the flavours and textures of these two amazing dishes, I decided to make a strange hybrid, to pair the freshness and crispiness of Tauhu Goreng, with the sweet, smoky and spicy flavours of Tteokkochi. I am going to make a bold boast – that this dish could convert tofu-doubters to tofu-lovers.
Gojuchang is available in several UK chain supermarkets, but tends to come in tiny, stingy, expensive pots. I buy it in larger quantities from the Korean or Chinese supermarket. If you want to make this dish gluten free, use a gluten free gojuchang and replace the soy sauce with tamari. If you want to make the dish vegan, replace the honey with a non-bee-related syrup.
I pack firm tofu, drained, patted dry with kitchen paper and cut into slices 1 cm thick
1 large carrot, grated
1/3 cucumber, julienned
1 finely chopped white onion
Small bunch of chives, snipped
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp gojuchang
2 tbsp light soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp sesame oil
50ml water
A little rice vinegar
Place the sesame seeds into a dry frying pan and cook over a low heat until lightly toasted. Place into a bowl and set aside. Cover the bottom of the frying pan with vegetable oil and heat. When the oil is very hot (check by putting a small piece of tofu in, it should hiss and spit a little), place the tofu in the pan and fry, turning once until golden brown on both sides. Remove the tofu to a plate lined with some kitchen paper. Put some more kitchen paper on top of the tofu to remove any excess oil.
Decant the cooking oil from the frying pan into a small saucepan and then return one tablespoon to the frying pan. In a bowl mix the honey, soy sauce, gojuchang, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, onion and carrot together with the water. Stir well until combined.
Reheat the oil in the frying pan and add the contents of the bowl. Cook over a low heat for a few minutes -the kitchen should start to smell really delicious. Add the fried tofu pieces and stew in the sauce for a couple of minutes before turning over. Turn off the heat and scatter with the chives and sesame seeds.
To serve, place the tofu slices on a plate and cover with the sauce. Arrange a pile of cucumber on top of the dish and dot with a few drops of rice vinegar. Serve with plain, boiled rice
hongkonggourmet 