Meatless Monday - Fiery Pits of H3!!

This is a favorite dish for people that like hot food. Really hot food. I mean, scorching hot food. If you need to clear your sinuses this is the meal for you.  It's also really delicious.  Of course you can adjust the pepper for your taste.  Some like it hot.

The way I enjoy the tofu best is by making Crispy Tofu with Salt and Pepper. I actually don't really like tofu unless it's Salt and Pepper Tofu.  I've had it served at a wonderful, authentic Chinese restaurant and our local East Atlanta Village Vietnamese  restaurant, Soba Noodle House.  It's delicious from both places so I thought I'd give it a try cooking it.  It's just as good at home.

Fiery Pits Dinner

Ingredients:

• 800g firm, fresh tofu (usually 1 package)
• Cornflour/cornstarch, to dust the tofu
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 stick butter (I have also used ½ butter and ½ olive oil)
• 12 small shallots (or 6 large), peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 red chilies, thinly sliced (or mixture of red chilies and jalapeno peppers)
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 16 small, thin spring onions, cut into segments 3cm long
• jasmine rice for serving

Directions:

Cut the tofu into 3cm x 2cm blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess. Pour in enough oil to come 0.5cm up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat. Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.

Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chilies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft.

Sautéing the Vegetables

When the shallots and chilies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the spices. Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.

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