Fried Tofu Cubes

So frozen tofu turned out to be way better than I thought. It’s pretty darned versatile. We’ve thrown it into curry for an entree, boiled in soup, and now I’ve tried frying them.

There’s a fried tofu appetizer at Bangkok 54, one of DC’s best Thai restaurants, that I love. I haven’t figured out the dipping sauce yet, but the main thing is that I have a more than acceptable alternative.

Since I usually freeze whatever is leftover from making dinner out of a 14oz block of tofu, it’s usually a log about 1.5 inches square and about 3-4 inches long. I freeze it, and then thaw in boiled water for 20 minutes as I was instructed by my tofu cookbook. Once that’s done, I drain it really well. It’s kind of spongy, so I end up squeezing it just a little bit over the sink to drain it even further. After that, I cut it into half inch slices and spread them on a paper towel to dry.

I then mix up a tablespoon or two of flour, add garlic powder, curry powder and cayenne pepper. I put in enough to make the flour brown like light brown sugar, but not enough pepper to burn my tongue. I suppose you could dump everything into a bag and shake up the tofu cubes to coat. Shake off the excess and let them dry out a little bit. Then deep fry them. I pour in just enough canola oil into a pan till it’s about a half inch deep. Then fry the cubes. I flip them when they turn brown on one side and drain on paper towels. I like them to be really crispy on the outside, but still squishy in the middle.

I also tried this without flour and then drying the tofu cubes for a few hours. They come out MUCH crispier that way. Feel free to experiment and leave your results here. The main issue is driving the seasoning into the tofu for lots of flavor. I’ve also been using Goya Adobo seasoning as well, but the curry and cayenne flavors come out the most.

For a dipping sauce we’re experimenting with soy-sesame for a more Korean style sauce. We’re also investigating fish sauce for a Thai style sauce, and a sweet and sour type sauce too.

I like them really hot, fresh out of the pan, but they are pretty good room temperature too. It’s a pretty quick appetizer.