This was FAR AND AWAY the best tasting, CRISPIEST tofu I’ve ever made. See the original at the vid at Sweet and spicy tofu from tifflovestofu on TikTok
FIRST, PREPARE THE TOFU AND LET IT SIT
Squeeze excess water out of block of tofu,
Press on a towel for 60 mins at room temp to dehydrate.
NEXT, PREPARE THE VEGETABLES SO THEY’RE READY
Chop garlic (for me, 6 cloves)
ginger (for me, a thumb sized piece)
mushrooms (3-4 oz)
scallions (maybe 6-8 chopped, you’ll saute the white parts and set the green parts aside to sprinkle on the dish before serving)
bell peppers ( one whole chopped)
onion (one small)
You’ll end up with 4 cups of chopped raw vegs
It’s not in her recipe, but I add broccoli to everything, see pic.
GET THE SWEET AND SPICY SAUCE GOING
Sauce is 2 tbsp each:
red chili flakes or sambal oleck
apple cider or rice wine vinegar
hoisin sauce
low sodium soy sauce (or regular soy sauce cut in half with water)
sugar
Add water to double in volume. Taste and add more sugar if needed. The tofu will soak up a lot of the sourness, so don’t make it too sweet.
Next, make a cornstarch slurry in ROOM TEMP water:
Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch shaken into 4 tablespoons room temperature water that you are whisking around quickly. It will easily dissolve and make a thin paste. (If you pour the water into the cornstarch, it will make a big lumpy mess you can’t use.)
Then add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer on low until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
DIRECTIONS TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
She added oil to a pan (I used coconut oil,) then sprinkled cornstarch atop the oil, then added the tofu cubes and stirred them around then added the sauce and vegs.
I dredged my tofu in 3 tbsp each cornstarch and egg white and placed the chunks in the pan.
Add the sauce to the pan, then the vegetables
Stir it all around just long enough to coat each cube. The vegs only need 3-4 mins to cook. Prepared this way, the tofu does NOT get soggy when the sauce was added, not even overnight!
Apparently the cornstarch creates a barrier to keep the soggy out, while the chunks are crispy and chewy and full of the flavor of the sauce.
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