This is a simple and tasty vegetarian recipe that dishes up in 30 minutes or less. You won’t miss the meat because of the tofu. For those who think they do not like tofu or have had bad experience with tofu, this dish will more than likely change your perception about tofu. Bland, mushy white stuff this is not. My favorite way to eat tofu is to have it fried, brown and crispy.
The tofu can be cut up in various ways. Thick strips of tofu as outlined in the recipe will give more texture to the tofu when it’s fried.
If you happen to have oyster sauce in your refrigerator, then by all means use it in this dish. The oyster sauce will give an additional depth of flavor to the dish. However, it will still be quite tasty if you skip the oyster sauce.
Tofu with Tomatoes
(Serves 4)
- 1.5 lbs tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 package of extra firm tofu (14 oz)
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 chopped cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce (optional)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- chopped cilantro for garnish
1. Remove tofu from package and pat dry. Place tofu on cutting board with the longest side facing towards you and cut 6 even vertical slices still keeping it as a tofu block, turn the knife horizontally and cut 4 horizontal slices into the tofu block. Now you should have about ½ in strips of tofu. Blot the tofu strips dry with paper or dish towels – this limits some of the grease splatter.
2. Heat oil in large frying pan on medium high heat.
3. Place the tofu strips, long side down into the oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Be sure to space out the tofu in the pan, or else they will stick together. Place the fried tofu on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
4. Pour off the remaining oil except for 2 tbsp of oil to sauté the chopped onions. Stir in chopped garlic when the onion is translucent.
5. Add chopped tomatoes to pan, sprinkle salt over tomatoes. Stir fry for 7-10 minutes, until mixture becomes a thick sauce with chunks of tomatoes. Add fish sauce, sugar and black pepper at the last few minutes (oyster sauce is optional).
6. Stir in the fried tofu and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes to incorporate the tofu with the tomato sauce.
7. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.
Tofu with Tomatoes, originally uploaded by simpleviet.
Tags: stir-fry, tofu, tomatoes, vietnamese
