Use a small knife to slice through the middle of each tofu puff. Take care not to cut through the tofu. The goal is to stuff the tofu with some filling. The tofu puffs are usually pretty hollow inside, if not, you can scoop the content out to make room for the filling. Set aside.
If using extra-firm tofu:
Cut each block of tofu into 6 large pieces. You will need about 2 1/2 blocks to get 15 pieces
I spray with some cooking spray and air fry them at 350 F (180 C) for about 10 minutes, turning them in between, or until they are golden brown and form a crust
Use a small knife to slice through the middle of each tofu puff. Take care not to cut through the tofu. The goal is to stuff the tofu with some filling. Use a spoon to scoop some of the tofu out to make room for the filling. Take care not to scoop out too much because we still want to taste a bit of tofu, not just the skin.
Prepare the filling:
Preheat a large skillet with cooking oil. Add in garlic and shallots and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in the shrimp and cook until they just turn pink. Add all the veggies and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Add in the bean sprouts. Stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down completely
Assembling:
Stuff the tofu with filling as tightly as possible. Repeat until all of them are stuffed.
Preparing batter for frying:
Combine the rice flour, all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, baking soda , salt, chicken powder, coriander powder and whisk to combine. Add the water and the consistency of the batter is semi-thin, but not too thin. Add more water if needed
Frying:
Preheat cooking oil enough for deep-frying. When you dip a skewer into the oil, you will see bubbles. The oil is ready. Place all the dry ingredients for the batter in a large mixing bowl and set aside
Gently put the tofu into the batter to coat. Deep fry in the oil until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes or so. You can do 3-4 at the times but take care not to do too many at a times. You may need to lower the heat a little bit if the tofu got brown too quickly. Repeat until you are done with all the tofu. Remove and place on absorbent paper towel. Serve immediately with chili and kecap manis on the side
Notes
You can also use store-bought deep-fried tofu puffs. You will need about 30 pieces as they are usually pretty small in size