salt and pepper tofu

Salt and pepper tofu is crispy, coated with chillies and aromatics on the outside, juicy and soft when you bite into it. This dish is perfect to have along with a bowl of hot rice, and it is so addictive. It’s also vegetarian friendly!

The tofu cubes are usually deep-fried, but since I didn’t want to use too much oil, pan-frying/ shallow frying is okay as well. The only difference is that pan-frying/ shallow frying would take extra time since you would have to flip and evenly fry all six sides of the tofu cubes until golden brown. Whereas for deep frying, it cooks all sides in one go. However, the end result is still crispy, crusty and amazing!

ingredients for salt and pepper tofu:

• 400g firm tofu, chopped into small cubes
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped (white and green parts separated)
• 1 birds eye chilli
• 1 green chilli pepper
• 1 small/ medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil for shallow frying

~salt and pepper seasoning:

• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ¼  tsp ground white pepper
• ¼ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns

steps:

prepare the ingredients:

1. Absorb excess water from the tofu using a kitchen towel. Then slice the tofu into 1 inch cubes, or smaller if you prefer to have it more on the crispy side.
2. Prepare the stir-fry ingredients. You can deseed the chillies if you don’t want it too spicy. Finely chop chillies, red bell pepper, scallions and garlic. Make sure to separate the green and white parts of the scallions, as we’ll save the greens for garnishing. Set aside.
3. Prepare the salt and pepper seasoning. Combine garlic salt, salt, white pepper and ground Sichuan peppercorn into a bowl and set aside.
4. Place cornstarch on a plate and toss all pieces of tofu until each side is evenly and lightly coated.

frying the tofu:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan or pot over medium-high heat. Insert a chopstick into the oil to check if it’s ready for frying (if bubbles form around chopstick, the oil is ready).
2. Add tofu cubes into the oil and fry each side for about 1-2 minutes or until it turns into a light golden brown. Then remove from pan and let excess oil drain on a paper towel.
3. For extra crispiness, fry the tofu cubes once more for an extra 1-2 minutes or until they have deepened in golden brown colour. Remove from pan and let excess oil drain on a paper towel.

stir-frying the chillis and aromatics:

1. Pour away the cooking oil from the pan but remain around 2 tbsp of oil.
2. On medium-high heat, add garlic, chillis and green onions. Stir-fry for about 15 seconds until aromatic. Then add the diced bell peppers and white parts of the scallion, and fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the fried tofu back into the pan, then sprinkle about 1 tsp of the salt and pepper seasoning and toss everything together.
4. Remove from heat and garnish with the green parts of the scallions. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper, and enjoy!

tips:

• Make sure to absorb all the excess moisture from the tofu using a kitchen towel.
• Remove the seeds of the chillies if you don’t want the dish to be too spicy.
• You can check if the oil is hot enough for frying by inserting a wooden chopstick/ skewer into the oil. If bubbles form around the chopstick, then the oil is ready for frying.

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