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| Image © Onykahonie |
If you've been following my tasty tofu quest you'll know that I had a complete tofu disaster followed by a moderate success with Thai Tofu Cakes, but I still hadn't managed to cook the kind of tofu that I like to eat in restaurants.
I concluded that I needed to try a different brand of tofu, so despite the lack of Chinese supermarkets in my area, I managed to track down some rather unappetisingly named Clear Spot (yes, really!) Organic Tofu in a local health food store.
On opening the packet, I was slightly scared...the tofu looked and felt softer than Cauldron's. I drained the tofu and and blotted it well on kitchen roll to remove as much moisture as possible, and then cut it into pieces. From my in depth tofutastic research, I had deduced that I first needed to marinate it and then fry it, so I made up a marinade of dark soya sauce, grated fresh ginger and crushed garlic. I also made up a basic batter with plain flour, egg and water.
After an hour bathing in the marinade (the tofu, not me!) I dipped the bean curd chunks into the batter and fried them for a few minutes in hot vegetable oil. They sizzled gently and turned a beautiful golden brown. I scooped them out and drained them well, before tentatively biting into a piece. The kids were slightly wary, but after some gentle persuasion and the promise of another mention on my blog, they tried it. Mr O showed no such trepidation and ate a whole piece in one mouthful.
And the result...whoo-hoo...everyone liked it!!! TASTY TOFU - crisp and tanned on the outside, pale and soft in the middle, and packed full of flavour! My tasty tofu quest is over (for now).
The recipe
Take a small block of firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cut into chunks. Marinade for 1 hour in:
- 2-3 tbsp dark soya sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Then dip into a batter made with:
- Heaped ½ cup plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup cold water
Fry in hot vegetable oil until golden brown, then drain on paper towel.
Serve with rice/noodles, stir-fried vegetables and a sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Alternative: Veganise the batter by omitting the egg.
Image © Onykahonie
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| Image © Onykahonie |
Determined not to let the beancurd get the better of me (after my tofu disaster), I began phase 2 of the tasty tofu quest and started looking for recipes to use up my remaining half pack of tofu. As I was using Cauldron's tofu, I looked on their website and found this lovely sounding recipe for Thai Tofu Cakes, which uses grated firm tofu.
My first thought was "How on earth am I going to grate the tofu?" I knew from yesterday's attempt than my 'firm' tofu was a little on the flabby side, so I googled and found various methods to drain and press the tofu to make it firmer. The most common method seemed to be to put it between several sheets of kitchen towel and place a plate on top with a weight on...so that's what I tried. After an hour of draining, the tofu, was definitely drier, but definitely not grate-able!
I decided to go ahead with the recipe, but bunged all the ingredients in the food processor (swapping the spring onion for a small red onion). My initial thoughts on reading the recipe, were that the mixture was going to end up too wet to form patties and I was right! To rectify the situation, I added some wholemeal breadcrumbs (25g), but the mixture was still too wet. I then added some gram flour (25g) which I had left over from making pakoras. That seemed to do the job, but I wasn't sure how it would affect the taste!
So here's the verdict: 2.5 out of 4 - Not bad, but the kids weren't keen! Crispy on the outside chewy in the middle, with a nice spicy kick.
Alternatives: Make these without egg, or use really firm tofu, that you can actually grate.
I still want to make proper crispy tofu chunks though, so the tasty tofu quest continues...
Image © Onykahonie
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Well, I'm ready to admit that phase 1 of the tasty tofu quest was an unmitigated failure! The rest of the dish was fine (quite nice actually), but the tofu was bland and chewy.
Here's the recipe I used:
Vegetable (& Tofu) Mild Thai Green Curry
- ½ pack of firm tofu, drained (I used Cauldron's)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1 aubergine cut into quarters and then sliced quite thinly
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetarian Thai green curry paste
- 1 tin coconut milk
I attempted to cut the tofu into chunks, but it kind of crumbled!
I then fried the tofu in a little vegetable oil in a hot wok, hoping it would turn golden brown and crispy...it didn't! I drained the tofu on kitchen roll and put it in the oven to crisp up...it didn't!
(Edit: try my tried and tested tasty tofu recipe instead!)
Meanwhile, here's the successful bit:
Fry the aubergines in a 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a hot wok, turning frequently, so they don't burn (you want them to soften and go golden brown, which will take 5 minutes or so).
Then add the carrots, onions and peppers and cook for a few more minutes.
Then add the mushrooms.
Stir in the curry paste and cook for a minute, then pour in the coconut milk and stir well.
Allow to simmer on a low heat while you cook the rice.
I made the mistake of stirring the bland tofu into the curry, in the hope it would absorb the flavours (it did a bit but it was still pretty horrible!)
So here's the verdict: 1 out of 4 - Miss Kahonie was the only member of the family who liked the whole curry. The rest of us left most of our tofu, but ate the veg.
Alternatives: Make this curry without the tofu, unless you can make it taste nice!
The tasty tofu quest continues....
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I've made up an extra New Year's Resolution: To learn how to cook tasty tofu!
Now, I reckon I'm a pretty good cook. I can turn my hand to Indian, Greek, Italian and even English food...but Chinese and Thai dishes are not my forte! I first experimented with tofu, many years ago in my student days, long before the invention of Quorn and the many other meat subs now on the market. My efforts were somewhat bland and uninspiring though, which put me off.
I've recently been tempted back to the bean curd since eating a couple of fab spicy and crispy tofu dishes at Chinese and Thai restaurants. I want to have a go at recreating those textures and flavours at home, so this week I'm going to try for a Thai tofu dish. I'm not a big fan of convenience foods and cook-in sauces, but I've bought a jar of Asda's vegetarian Thai green curry paste (look out for fishy ingredients in other brands) for my first attempt.
Find out how the quest ended here.
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