Szechuan Tofu
Szechuan Style Tofu Stir fry recipe with fried tofu and vegetables tossed in delicious spicy savoury sauce.
Servings: 4
Calories: 207kcal
Equipment
- Large wok/pan
Ingredients
- 400 gram Firm tofu About 14oz, Firm or extra firm tofu cut into 1-inch dices.
- ½ Onion Cut small dices
- 1 Green chilli pepper Or bell pepper cut small pieces
- 1 Red chilli pepper Or bell pepper cut small pieces
- 1 Carrot Cut 1-cm cubes
- 1 tbsp Garlic Finely chopped/minced
- ½ tbsp Ginger Finely chopped/minced
- 5-6 Dry long red chilli Sichuan chilli or choice of dry chilli mild/hot
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns Roasted and crushed into medium coarse
- Vegetable oil for frying Or neutral flavour oil
Tofu Seasonings and Coating
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce Light soy sauce or regular all-purpose soy sauce
- 8-10 tbsp Corn starch About ½ cup, corn or potato starch
Sauce
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce Or all-purpose soy sauce
- ½ tsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar Or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tsp Corn starch
- 2 tbsp Water
Instructions
How to Prepare Tofu
- Wrap the tofu block with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel and gently press the excess water out. Pat dry the tofu and cut it into 1-inch size cubes.
- Place the tofu cubes in a large bowl, and season with soy sauce. Stir it gently and set it aside for 10 minutes.
- Add corn starch in the marinated tofu, toss and coat each tofu piece. Toss the excess flour out before frying.
- Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Fill enough oil to shallow fry the tofu cubes. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes, flip sides and fry until the coating is crispy golden brown.
- Remove from oil and place it over the paper towel.
How to Make a Stir Fry
- Combine all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Leave 2-3 tablespoons of oil in the wok/pan. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and stir for a few seconds.
- Next, add the onions, and dried chillies, and toss them well. Follow with ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and chilli peppers.
- Pour the sauce in and follow with the fried tofu pieces.
- Combine everything well until the sauce is thick and glossy. Turn off the heat and add spring onions.
- Remove from heat and transfer to serving plate.
- Serve with plain jasmine rice or noodles.
Notes
- Hard Tofu - Use firm or extra firm tofu. Do not recommend soft tofu for this recipe. You can find firm tofu at Chinese/Korean or Oriental Asian grocery stores or in the Supermarket fridge section.
- Tofu substitute - Instead of tofu, you can also use paneer ( Indian cottage cheese ). For vegetarians, cauliflower florets or Quorn vegetarian meat are great options.
- Air fryer option - Place the coated tofu cubes over the baking tray/rack. Spray cooking oil over the coated tofu cubes. Air fry it in a pre-heated air fryer 350°F( 177° C) for about 8-10 minutes or until crispy.
- Vegetables - Customize the vegetables by adding your favourite stir fry vegetables like mushroom, green/red bell pepper, baby corn, zucchini, etc.
- Oil for frying - Vegetable, sunflower, canola, groundnut/peanut oil, or neutral flavour oil are ideal for Chinese stir-fries. You can reuse the tofu fried oil in other dishes.
- Chinese black rice vinegar substitute - Chinkiang Chinese black vinegar has a unique sweet, sour taste. If you cannot find it, you can swap it with regular white rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lime juice.
Nutrition
Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 811mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2834IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 2mg
