Fried food + spicy sauce = magic. Although I love all vegan foods fried, my favorite thing to fry is plain tofu coated in cornstarch that’s been dredged first in an Ener-G and water slurry. Once placed into oil to fry, the edges become perfectly crisp and sharp, as if they’ve been starched and ironed (and I guess they have been, in a way). It looks beautiful and tastes amazing.
Last year and again this year, a friend of mine gave me several pounds of fresh hot habanero peppers from her father’s garden (yes, pounds). I used them to make a batch of homemade sriracha like I did last year, and it’s currently been marinating on my counter for the past week. I reserved a few extra peppers this year, and made a thai sweet chili sauce with one of them. Although you can buy this sauce prepared in a bottle, this made-from-scratch version is simple to make in minutes, contains no additives or preservatives and tastes really fresh and vibrant. I made the heat level in this batch pretty intense (fresh-from-the-garden habaneros are hot!), but you can adjust the spice level any way you want, using any type or amount of hot sauce.
HOMEMADE THAI SWEET CHILI SAUCE WITH FRIED TOFU
Yield 1 cup sauce
Ingredients
for the sauce
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 TB sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 TB sambal oelek (more or less, to taste)
- very finely minced fresh hot pepper, to taste (optional)
- 1 TB cornstarch, dissolved in 1 TB cold water
for the tofu
- 1 block of firm tofu (no need to press it)
- 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G, whisked with 5 TB cold water
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Place the first four sauce ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then whisk in the garlic, sambal, fresh hot pepper (if using) and allow to simmer for about a minute. Give it a taste, adjusting any of the flavors as needed. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes to slightly reduce. Then add in the cornstarch/water mixture and whisk until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Cut the tofu block in half and then those halves into halves. Then cut the pieces into right-angle triangles. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat the oil (enough to submerge the triangles in) over medium-high heat. After about 7 minutes, test the oil’s readiness by inserting a wooden spoon into the pot—if bubbles immediately form around the spoon, the oil is ready.
- Dip the tofu triangles into the Ener-G mixture, and then coat it in some of the cornstarch, making sure all sides are covered and tapping off any excess. Place the triangles, two at a time, into the oil and fry until golden, about 4 minutes. Make sure that they do not touch each other or stick to the bottom of the pan by using heat-resistant tongs to move them as needed. Carefully remove from the pot and place on paper towels to drain.
- Serve immediately with the thai sweet chili sauce.
Fanny says
October 3, 2012 at 11:34 amI bet this would be awesome with spring rolls.
Celine says
October 3, 2012 at 1:06 pmI'll go as far as saying that anything + spicy sauce = perfection. I have to try your homemade Sriracha soon. It's getting impossible to find the vegan version of it in town, and it smells like sacrilege to me.
Angry Asian says
October 3, 2012 at 1:15 pmcondiments are always so great to make from scratch, how long would this last in the fridge?
erinwyso says
October 3, 2012 at 1:44 pmIt should last at least two days, I would think? — but the cornstarch tends to clump a little in the fridge, so its best to make this fresh and consume right away. (and this recipe makes a small portion, perfect for this amount of tofu.)
LittleMonsterx14 says
October 3, 2012 at 2:06 pmmmm this looks amazing! some of my favorite things!
Tami says
October 3, 2012 at 2:27 pmThis one makes me weak in the knees.
Kittee Bee Berns says
October 3, 2012 at 3:46 pmI AM SO AFRAID OF HABANEROS!!!!!!!
VeggieAmanda says
October 3, 2012 at 4:14 pmOhh- YUM! And this recipe seems to be gluten free. I normally don't fry things, but you have tempted me! 🙂
Jes says
October 3, 2012 at 4:26 pmI totes know what you mean about that way to prepare tofu. The taste of tofu really appeals to me! Your sauce looks tasty!
Amey says
October 4, 2012 at 7:55 pmI've never made tofu that way! Do you actually deep fry it, or just pan fry it? I have a serious aversion to deep frying. I am afraid. But pan frying is totally my scene.
erinwyso says
October 5, 2012 at 12:17 amYou have to submerge the coated tofu completely in oil in order to get it crisp. But if you do pan fry it, I'd be curious to see what happens!
Emily says
October 5, 2012 at 2:43 amI too have a soft spot for plain cornstarch-coated fried tofu, but I've never tried making it myself. Since I have all the ingredients in my kitchen, now I have no excuse.
Suburban Snow White says
October 5, 2012 at 11:37 pmDeep frying scares me silly, as I fear I am too clumsy to pull it off. But you make me want to try it. 🙂
TheSweetestVegan says
October 8, 2012 at 3:40 amThis looks like the perfect meal for a day in bed.