Fried silken tofu with vegetable sauce

This modern twist on an agedashi tofu-style recipe features deep-fried silken tofu that is served in a rich and savoury mushroom and vegetable sauce. The silken tofu is pressed, then deep fried until golden and crispy, creating a crunchy exterior and soft and creamy interior. Vegetarian oyster sauce and shiitake mushrooms build serious umami flavour for the sauce, which is complemented with sweet vegetables.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 600 g silken tofu block
• vegetable oil, for deep frying
• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup potato starch, or cornflour
• salt
• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 600 ml hot water
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ½ small carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp frozen peas
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp potato starch (or cornflour) mixed with ½ cup cold water

Instructions

1. To press the tofu, turn it out of the packet onto a double layer of kitchen paper. Fold the paper to cover the top of the tofu and place a plate on top. Allow to stand for 10 minutes as the weight of the top plate presses down the tofu. Cut into 5 cm blocks.
2. In a large heavy-based saucepan, heat your oil to 180˚C. Mix the plain flour and potato starch together on a plate and season with salt. Gently roll the tofu in the flours, shake off excess and immediately deep fry for 4 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on a wire rack then transfer to a serving bowl.
3. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking liquid (reserving the liquid), trim the stalks and dice the caps.
4. For the vegetable sauce, heat a wok over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil and fry the garlic for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the carrot, shiitake mushroom caps and half the spring onions and stir-fry until softened. Add the shiitake steeping liquid and bring to a simmer. Add the peas, sugar and sauces, wine and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle in enough of the cornflour mixture to form a thick sauce.
5. Pour the sauce over the tofu, scatter with the remaining spring onion and serve.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.