pan-fried tofu steaks
2 min readDid you know that tofu also comes in a less wobbly, firmer variety? Firm tofuis fantastic for pan-frying because it injects some serious flavour and texture into this magical soy product.
Just imagine sinking your teeth through a cheow(crunchy)seasoned crust to a delicate and waat(silky smooth)centre. Simply dress up your tofu steaks with a spicy soy sauce glaze and serve on rice for an easy and satisfying mid-week meal.
Serves 2 pinch ground white pepper pinch chilli powder, or to taste 300g medium-firm tofu, drained, sliced into thick steaks and patted dry 2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 tbsp cornflour 3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves steamed rice, to serve for the soy sauce glaze 1% tbsp light soy sauce tsp dark soy sauce 312 tsp granulated sugar tsp Chinkiang vinegar, or 12 tsp balsamic vinegar 14 fresh red chilli, thinly sliced or 14 tsp dried chilli flakes 1 spring onion, whites only, thinly sliced on the diagonal 1 Rub the pepper and chilli powder over the tofu.2 Combine all the glaze ingredients, except the spring onion, in a small saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon water and cook over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes until it froths up vigorously. Remove from the heat and stir in the spring onion. As it cools the sauce will become a thick syrupy glaze.
3 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Working with one tofu steak at a time, pat the corn-flour all over as densely as you can. The tofu steaks should be chalky white and dry to the touch.
Add the steaks to the frying pan as soon as each one is coated. Fry the tofu for 2-3 minutes on each side until a crispy golden crust has formed Arrange the steaks on a plate like a stack of fallen dominoes, drizzle with the glaze, sprinkle over the coriander and serve with freshly steamed rice.
