Chili garlic tofu is a simple Asian dish that can be served in the main course with rice and noodles or enjoyed as an appetizer. It gets ready in 30 minutes, needs a handful of ingredients, and is very tasty.
3-4spring onion stalksfinely chopped, keep the green and white parts separated
2.5tablespoonschili oil
1tablespoonoyster mushroom sauce or any other Asian stir fry sauce of your choice
1tablespoonsoy sauce
1teaspoonvegetable oilor canola oil
1teaspoongarlic powder
¼teaspoonground black pepper
1teaspoonbrown sugarwhite sugar can also be used
A pinch of salt
Instructions
Wrap the tofu block in a thick paper towel or a clean cotton kitchen towel. Keep it on a flat surface. Put a plate on top and press it with something heavy like a jar of beans. Leave it like that for around 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, take out the tofu block and cut it into bite-size cubes.
Put the tofu cubes in a large bowl. Add chili oil, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Gently toss until all the cubes get evenly coated in the oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for around 12-15 minutes or until the outer layer of tofu starts turning brown.
Heat vegetable cooking oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and the white part of spring onion. Saute for a few seconds or until the raw smell of garlic goes away.
Add brown sugar, ground black pepper, soy sauce, and oyster mushroom sauce. Mix and saute for a minute.
Add baked tofu cubes and chopped spring onion greens. Saute for 1-2 minutes and then switch off the stove. Garnish with more chopped spring onion greens.
Enjoy it as an appetizer or serve in the main course with a rice or noodle dish.
Video
Notes
To marinate tofu, use fewer chili pieces and more oil from the chili oil. You can also strain the chili oil and then use it in the marination.
While mixing tofu cubes and chili oil, toss gently otherwise the tofu cubes will break.
You can also use your hands to toss the tofu cubes but since we are using chili oil, wear gloves for tossing with your hands.
Don't over-bake the tofu cubes otherwise, they will lose all the moisture and become extra chewy.
You can also pan-fry tofu cubes instead of baking them. For crispier tofu cubes, add cornstarch or rice flour while marinating them.
You can also add a few tablespoons of chili oil with sauces to make the dish spicier.
The oyster mushroom sauce can also be replaced with any other Asian stir-fry sauce of your choice.
Instead of spring onion, bok choy or spinach can be used too. You can also add all of them.
More recipe tips and tricks are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.