When talking about tofu, people rarely think about soft tofu. In fact, I think soft tofu is underrated despite its healthy level. Soft/silken tofu contains only half the calories and fat compared to firm tofu (Eating Well). You may hear of and love the famous Agedashi Tofu dish from Japanese cuisine. But if you only enjoy soft tofu by just one dish, then you're missing out a lot. This vegetarian fried soft tofu recipe will amaze you of how you can pair with soft tofu in a different way. But still stay in love with it (or even more).
This fried soft tofu is not easy to make, but I will guide you step-by-step and provide useful information in order to accomplish such delicious recipe. If you are restaurant chefs and looking for a vegetarian appetizer or snack for your menu, this can be it. Its uniqueness can bring your creative and plating skills to the next level. In fact, it was one of the best selling items on our restaurant menu. I hope this fried soft tofu recipe can inspire you in some way, chefs.
I must say this is the second vegetarian recipe I have on my site. The first one was created back when I started this blog. It's called Summer Fruit Rolls. It is a trend nowadays for healthy eating, isn't it? Though I have a handful recipes that are vegetarian and even vegan. but to be honest, I'm still so far away from all of those nutrition calculation for each and every thing we consume daily. If you're like me, please raise your hands so I don't feel left out.
What else are included in this fried soft tofu recipe?
A log of soft tofu is cut in to few medallion pieces, then dredge in flour mixture included: tapioca starch and grind mixed nuts. These nuts can be cashew, peanut, pecan, walnut or all of them. The nuts help add on crunchiness for the outer layer of fried soft tofu.
How long will this fried tofu become soggy?
It is important to fry tofu in hot oil, but not extremely hot. The perfect temperature to fry everything is at 350F. Make sure your oil reaches this temperature before adding dredged tofu. Too hot oil will make tofu explode because of its water contain. Low tempt oil will make your tofu becomes soggy right away.
How long does it take to fry soft tofu?
You should only fry dredged tofu from 2 minutes to 2.5 minutes. If you fry longer than that, the water from tofu starts coming through the outer layer and it can cause *small* explosion.
Vegetarian Fried Soft Tofu
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
- Cooking pan lined with oil absorbed paper
Ingredients
- 1 log soft tofu cut into 6 medallions
- 1 oz mixed nuts grind
- 10 oz tapioca starch for substitution: use corn starch
- 1 dash salt and pepper to taste
- hoisin sauce as needed
- 1 c whole milk
Pico de gallo
- 3 small Roma tomato small dice
- ½ small white or red onion small dice
- ½ small lime juiced
- 6 sprig cilantro stem finely chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine mixed nuts, tapioca starch, S&P.
- In another mixing bowl, pour 1 c of milk in. Set aside.
- In a cooking pot, fill enough vegetable oil to submerge tofu pieces completely. You can eyeball the amount of oil. Bring oil to desired temperature: 350F.
- Use both hands for dredging process: one hand (wet hand) to dip soft tofu medallions in the milk, then transfer it to tapioca starch mixture. The other hand (dry hand) to dredge tofu with the starch.
- When oil reaches 350F, slowly add dredged soft tofu in using your dry hand. Fry in small batch and try to work as fast as you can. Fry for 2 minutes or until the outer part become crunchy, maximum 2.5 minutes. Quickly take them out on a lined cooking pan to get rid of any excess oil.
- Mix all pico de gallo ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Served fried soft tofu immediately with sweet hoisin sauce and picco de gallo.
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