SALT AND PEPPER TOFU

Hey everyone, we hope you're doing well and not letting the colder weather get you down. We're excited to share a fantastic recipe with you that we think you'll love. Our inspiration for this recipe came from the delicious chili chips we always order from our favorite Chinese takeaway. We've put our twist on it by using tofu instead of chips, and we think we've nailed it.

Now, we know that tofu isn't everyone's go-to ingredient, but trust us, this recipe is delicious, and we're confident it will change your mind about tofu. Tofu may have gained a reputation as a 70s hippie food, and back in the day, everyone was busy pressing their tofu. It seemed like every vegetarian had a tofu press or a hefty cookbook. Unfortunately, all that pressing often resulted in less-than-appetizing tofu dishes, that put many off for life. However, during our backpacking adventures in China 20-plus years ago, we stumbled upon a rather unconventional method that completely changed the way we prepare tofu. To the Chinese people, this was just a basic technique, and very common practice they have been eating it way longer than us, so obviously they have the best methods. We were intrigued by this new method and when we returned from our travels this became our way of cooking tofu and to this day, it still is.

It's a simple method that you must try. So guys stop pressing and just simmer the tofu in salted water, this draws out the moisture, giving the tofu a less jelly-like texture and leaving it with a great taste.

Ingredients

1 block of tofu (369g) Cauldron Tofu

1 red pepper

4 spring onions

1/2 a red chili

2 cloves of garlic

juice of 1/2 a lime.

Batter

1/4 cup of corn flour

2 tbs plain flour

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

. 1/4 cup of milk / plant based milk

Dry Mix

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion salt

1 tsp of sugar

1 tsp Kampot pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice.

1/2 tsp chili powder

Method

1. Add the cubed tofu to boiling salted water and simmer for 7 minutes. Drain and pat dry the tofu.

2. Make the batter mix by adding the flours and spices together. Add the milk and mix to form a batter.

3. Coat the cubed tofu then spray with some oil.

4. Cook in the air fryer for 14 minutes.

5. Now fry the chopped red pepper and chili for 3 minutes.

6. Add the garlic and spring onion and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Add the lime juice.

8. Add the cooked crispy tofu to the pan and fry for a few minutes.

9. Mix all the dry mix ingredients together and add to the pan.

10. Remove from the pan and enjoy.