Let’s dive into a vegetarian favourite – Crispy salt and pepper tofu. It’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, spicy, salty, savoury and a perfect addition to your dinner spread.
Salt and pepper tofu is a popular dish in Asian cuisine, particularly in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking. It consists of bite-sized pieces of tofu, fried until crispy and golden brown, seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes other spices, like Chinese five spice.
If you’re new to tofu, I would highly recommend making this dish as it’s a versatile, delicious, great way to enjoy tofu in a new and exciting way! It’s simple, quick and easy. It only requires a few ingredients so keep on reading to find out how to achieve crispy salt and pepper tofu!
- 6 in 1 Mandoline with stainless steel blades
- Easy to clean and large capacity
- Compact and practical
- Ribbon, Spiral, Julienne, Mandoline and Grater cutting blades
- Gives Any Dish An Authentic Chinese Takeaway Flavour
- For a Milder Flavour with only a Hint of Chilli, Choose the Mild Salt & Pepper Seasoning
- Try Making Your Own Takeaway Favourite, Salt & Pepper Chips or get a Little More Creative With Stir Fried Diced Chicken or Pork with Noodles
Ingredients:
Serves 2
- 300g of firm tofu, cut into bite-sized and pat dry. (I’ve tried it with semi-firm and it did not work well)
- 2-3 teaspoons of salt/pepper/sichuan mix (you can buy it separately and make the spice mix but I’m here for shortcuts so I used a premixed spice jar and it worked just as well)
- 2 mild chilis (red and green), finely diced (you can bird eye chillis if you want to blow your head off 🤯 )
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 cup of cornstarch (starting guide, add more as you need to coat the tofu)
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1-2 cup of neutral oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 1 stem of spring onion for garnish
Steps:
1. Pat the tofu with paper towels and let it absorb as much water as possible (When I have time, I layer paper towels and a small pan to help press the water)
2. Add oil to the pan (shallow frying) and test for temperature by sprinkling cornstarch into the oil and seeing if it sizzles OR deep fry by bringing the temp up to 180 degrees celsius (my favourite way).
3. Combine cornstarch and tapioca flour, toss and coat the tofu evenly – do this in batches otherwise they won’t be coated evenly and tofu will absorb the flour very quickly so do it as you go!
4. Add batches of tofu to the pan and do not disturb for about 2-3 minutes, turn them over once they’re light golden brown. Remove all from the pan onto a cooling rack.
5. Sauté the chillies and white onion to the pan for 2-3 minutes, until soft and fragrant, add the spice mixture, and then add the tofu back into the pan.
6. Adjust seasoning to your liking and garnish with spring onion.