I was first introduced to this crispy tofu cubes with sweet chili sauce when we visited Singapore last year. We were at Crystal Jade and my sister ordered this dish. My then 23-month old daughter got hooked to this tofu dish (Yes, it’s fried, who won’t get hooked ). I liked how crispy the outside and how soft and melt in the mouth the inside was. Not to mention how easy it is for you to keep on grabbing this little cubes, just a perfect size for finger foods, and dip it into the sauce. I must say I kinda recreated that good memory from last year when I made this at home 🙂
CRISPY TOFU CUBES WITH SWEET CHILI SAUCE
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) of medium to soft tofu
- ½ cup of panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup corn starch
- Dash of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Oil for deep-frying
Chili sauce:
- 2 Tbsp of store-bought red chili paste
- 4 Tbsp of sugar
- ⅓ cup of rice vinegar
- ¼ cup of water
- ½ Tbsp of corn starch + 1 Tbsp of water
Instructions
Preparing the tofu:
- Drain the water off and place on an absorbent paper towel. Place another paper towel on top of the tofu and weigh it down with heavy pan or object. This is to help squeeze out any extra water from the tofu and let it sit for about 15 minutes or so while you are preparing other things. Your paper towels should be wet from absorbing the water. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cube
- Prepare the chili sauce, by putting all the ingredients, except for the corn starch, in a small sauce pan and bring it to a boil and make sure the sugar dissolves. Have a taste, it should be sweet and tangy. Stir the corn starch mixture and add into the pan and stir until it thickens. Let it cool down and pour into sauce bowl
- In a shallow mixing bowl, mix the bread crumbs, corn starch, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and whisk to make sure they are well mixed.
- When ready to fry the tofu, Preheat oil in a small pan. When you put some crumbs into the oil and it sizzles, the oil is ready. Gently add the tofu into the bread crumbs mixture and make sure they are coated all over. Gently place the tofu into the hot oil. Do this in batches and don't over crowd the pan. Gently turn the tofu to make sure they are golden brown all over. Place on absorbent paper towel and continue with the rest of the tofu. This is best served when it's hot and crispy. You can keep them warm in the oven (at around 175 F) while waiting for the rest of the tofu to be fried. Serve immediately with the sweet chili sauce
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