Fried Tofu

This is another tofu recipe from Santa Maria’s excellent Chinese cookbook. If you don’t want to make the sauce, the tofu can be fried and used in stir fries or other Chinese dishes. The sauce could be used as a dipping sauce for Chinese appetizers.

Fried Tofu (Zha Doufu) (Adapted from Chinese Vegetarian Cookery, 1983)

1 lb. firm or extra firm tofu, drained
3 Tbs. cooking oil
4 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. rice wine or sake
1 tsp. hot or red pepper oil
Slice the tofu in half crosswise and then again – you will have four rectangles. Cut the four halves into triangles. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan and fry tofu until golden on all sides.

Stir the other ingredients in a bowl to make a sauce. Put the fried tofu in a serving dish and pour the sauce over it to serve.