Ottolenghi’s Black Pepper Tofu
You will definitely surprise yourself with this one. It is an extremely delicious dish that’s quick and straightforward to make, but looks as if it’s been prepared at a top Chinese restaurant. It is fiery, both from the chiles and the black pepper; you can moderate this by reducing their quantity a little. However, the whole point is spiciness so don’t go too far.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty is Kitchn’s January pick for our Cookbook Club. See how you can participate here.
Black Pepper Tofu
Serves 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds
firm tofu
Vegetable oil for frying
Cornstarch to dust the tofu
- 11 tablespoons
butter
- 12
small shallots (12 ounces in total), thinly sliced
- 8
fresh red chiles (fairly mild ones), thinly sliced
- 12
garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tablespoons
chopped fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons
sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
- 3 tablespoons
light soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons
dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons
sugar
- 5 tablespoons
coarsely crushed black peppercorns (use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder)
- 16
small and thin green onions, cut into 1 1/4-inch segments
Instructions
Start with the tofu. Pour enough oil into a large frying pan or wok to come 1/4 inch up the sides and heat. Cut the tofu into large cubes, about 1 x 1 inch. Toss them in some cornstarch and shake off the excess, then add to the hot oil. (You’ll need to fry the tofu pieces in a few batches so they don’t stew in the pan.) Fry, turning them around as you go, until they are golden all over and have a thin crust. As they are cooked, transfer them onto paper towels.
Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan, then put the butter inside and melt it. Add the shallots, chiles, garlic and ginger. Sauté on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients have turned shiny and are totally soft. Next, add the soy sauces and sugar and stir, then add the crushed black pepper.
Add the tofu to warm it up in the sauce for about a minute. Finally, stir in the green onions. Serve hot, with steamed rice.
Recipe Notes
Reprinted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi with permission by Chronicle Books, 2011.