"CRISP TOFU COOKED IN TOMATO PEPPER SAUCE"

                              Crisp tofu cooked in tomato pepper sauce


Ingredients
200ml (7 fl oz) vegetable oil
500g (1 lb 2 oz) silken tofu, drained and cut into 3cm (11/4 inch) cubes
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced red Asian shallots
1 birdseye chilli, finely sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5cm (2 inch) lengths
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 coriander (cilantro) sprigs, to garnish

Preparation

Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.


Add the tofu, cooking it in two batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen paper to drain.


Transfer the deep-frying oil into a deep bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok.


Add the garlic, Asian shallots and chilli to the wok, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.


Add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and fish sauce. Stir and allow the tomatoes to break down.


Add 100ml (31/2 fl oz) water to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.


Add the crisp tofu, spring onions and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as you want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.


Garnish with coriander.