Besides producing beautiful shapes and textures, spherification techniques can also alter how flavors behave in a dish. Here I’ve created sriracha pearls, which were then dropped into a viscous and sweet glaze over well-seared tofu cubes. Instead of producing an even heat level throughout, these pearls created tiny yet fiery pops of isolated heat in each bite. These pearls can be made beforehand, and stored in cold vegetable oil until ready to use. They just simply need to be rinsed in a bit of cold water first, and will be quite sturdy once formed.
GLAZED TOFU WITH FIERY SRIRACHA PEARLS
Yield 2 servings
Ingredients
for the sriracha pearls
- 1/8 cup sriracha
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 gram agar powder
- several cups of vegetable oil, placed in the freezer for an hour to chill
- an empty tall beer glass, placed in the freezer an hour to chill
for the tofu
- 1 TB peanut oil
- 1 block of firm tofu (no need to press it)
- 1 TB sesame oil
- 1 TB soy sauce
- 3 TB mirin
- drop of rice vinegar
- 1 TB brown sugar
- 1 TB cold water, whisked with 1 tsp cornstarch
- black and white sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the sriracha, sesame oil, broth and agar over medium-low heat until it comes to a small simmer. After 45 seconds, remove from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two.
- Remove the chilled oil and empty glass from the freezer. Place the cold oil into the glass so only and inch of two of space is left at the top. Using a pipette, squeeze bottle or syringe, suck up a tablespoon or two of the mixture. Keeping the dropper very close to the oil, slowly drop it in, and allow the beads to fall to the bottom of the glass. After several beads are created, pour the entire glass through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl, then return the oil back into the glass and repeat. The pearls can then be rinsed in the strainer and stored in water while you make your tofu.
- Cut the tofu block into 3 slabs, then half those slabs to make 6 large tofu cubes.
- Heat the peanut oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Place the cubes into the hot pan. They will sputter a bit when they hit the pan. Allow the brown on each side for 4-5 minutes each. You may need to add a little more oil to the pan during browning time if the cubes start to stick. Once they are fully browned, transfer them to another plate while you make the glaze.
- In a separate clean saucepan, heat sesame oil, soy sauce and mirin over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Stir well, then add in the vinegar, then sprinkle the brown sugar over the top. Add in the water and cornstarch mixture, stir until thickened, then remove immediately from the heat.
- Spoon the sauce over the top of the tofu cubes, then garnish with the sriracha pearls and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
I absolutely love this idea of the sriracha pearls. Genius. Pure genius.
this tofu is a work of art! i love when you use your amazing techniques, like spherification, to transform a dish into an amazing culinary creation.
thanks Caitlin! Spherification is so much fun.
can the veg oil be used for other purposes after it's done with forming the spheres, or is it dead for use? (that was a really dramatic end of the question…)
Yes! The pearls form almost immediately once they hit the oil, so no taste or reside that would seep into the oil. I always strain/reuse oil a few times before I toss it, and keep it stored in the refrigerator between uses. Because I deep-fry things a lot. : P
OMG SRIRACHA PEARLS?? ya killin me!
wow this looks incredible!
It looks so pretty! I am always amazed at what people do with "food" to make the dishes a work of art!
Erin, I am thoroughly convinced you are some sort of vegan kitchen magician. Seriously- this looks amazing!
Ha! Thanks Kristy — you are too kind!
I am in all kinds of love with this recipe and photo! Can't wait to try it! STUNNING!
All best,
– Randy Clemens –
The Sriracha Cookbook
The Veggie-Lover's Sriracha Cookbook
Thank you so much Randy! I am such a huge fan of your work, so this means a lot coming from you!
i love all your intricate creations.. they look so delicate, perfect and delicious all at the same time!
These are too cute. i have been looking for how to do this technique at home! My family are addicted to chilli, so these will go down well. Fab pictures!
Wow, this is really incredible! I can't wait to try it <3
Wow! Your photos are gorgeous, I am really excited to try this method out!
how interesting!
Can the peanut oil be substituted? 🙁
Sure, you can sub vegetable or canola oil here, or even use sesame oil in its place.
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious as well as easy to make! The pearls came out wonderfully and the balance of flavor was really good (paired with some garlic kale). One question: when I poured the mirin/soy sauce/sesame oil into the saute pan after finishing the tofu, it sent an explosion of oil bubbles up into the air all over the kitchen (and me!). What might I have done wrong? There was still some oil left in the pan when I added the first elements of the glaze.
Glad you liked, and I can't imagine what happened! I've made this more times than I can count, and nothing like that has ever happened to me! To be on the safe side, I've revised the instructions on that step to heat the sauce in a separate, clean saucepan, then bring up slowly to a simmer.