Fried tofu

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Firm tofu	1 block
Vegetable oil

Other info

Timing: 30min plus 45min pre-cooking wait time

Produces: N/A

Used in: Tofu stir fry

Variations

Tofu doesn't really have a flavour on its own, so you want to add some kind of sauce and/or seasoning to it. A simple sauce could be soy sauce, ground ginger, paprika, pepper, and onion/garlic powder.

Instructions

1. Get the tofu as dry as possible. Tofu is like a sponge – you need to get the water out any flavour can get in. The best thing is to cover in in paper towels and press the water out using a weight for at least half an hour. You can use the tofu straight from the packet but the drier you can get it the better.
2. Cut the block of tofu into chunks, either cubes or slices. Thin slices work best (e.g. about half a cm wide).
3. Place the tofu in a large pan with plenty of oil (at least forming a continuous layer across the whole pan). If using a sauce as described above, add it at at the same time and make sure all sides of the tofu are covered before continuing.
4. Fry on a medium heat without turning the tofu over for as long as you dare (e.g. 15 min). The tofu will want to stick to the pan, so either use cast-iron or prod the slices continuously.
5. Once the bottom of the tofu turns a pleasing brown colour, flip the slices over to fry the other side.