Incredible Sauce Tofu
06 Feb 2023
Ingredients
firm tofu (400g)
light soya sauce
lime/lemon/rice vinegar
garlic (1 bulb)
finger chilis (3-4)
peanut butter
gojuchang
vegetable oil
Optional
Corn flour
Backstory
The inception of this dish dates back to my final year in university when I was immersed in exam preparations. After a long day of studying, I often sought relaxation through cooking something new in the evenings. One night, I entered my kitchen and found myself with limited ingredients, primarily tofu, peanut butter, and gochujang, which sparked my culinary creativity.
Intrigued by the potential, I quickly looked up a few recipes for inspiration. The dish underwent further refinement when my flatmate, Finn, returned to the flat. Since then, it has remained relatively unchanged. Caroline Kelly has even described it as her favorite among all the dishes I've cooked for her.
What I particularly appreciate about this dish is its simplicity, combined with the warm and satisfying feeling it imparts. Moreover, the thickness and stickiness of the sauce offer a delightful and enjoyable eating experience, in my opinion.
The dish remained nameless for an extended period, briefly going by the title of 'Korean Satay Sauce' which didn't quite capture its essence. The name comes from a song by Giggs and Dave and theres not much more to it then that.
Method
Take the tofu out of the packaging, give it a good pat-down with some paper towels or whatever you usually use to dry tofu. Cut it into cubes and stash them away for frying later. If you're up for a little extra crunch, you can toss the tofu in some cornflour and a pinch of salt – it takes a bit more effort, but the added texture can be totally worth it. To knock it up another notch, you might even tear the tofu into chunks before giving it a floury coat for some diverse textures.
Finely slice the garlic and chilis into strips and set them aside in a bowl. Begin shallow frying the tofu until it turns a lovely golden brown. If you've coated it in cornflour, be cautious as they tend to stick together. Aim for a medium-high heat, whever that actually means. Once golden brown place on a plate with a paper towl on to abosrb the excess oil.
After frying all the tofu, dispose of any excess oil properly, but leave enough in the pan for frying. Heat the oil again and place one heaped spoonful of gochujang on one side of the frying pan to warm it up. On the other side, add the chopped chilis and garlic, ensuring they're in oil as the gochujang will absorb a lot of the oil in the pan.
After about 30-60 seconds, add two heaped spoonfuls of your preferred peanut butter (generally maintaining a 2:1 ratio of peanut butter to gochujang). Once the garlic starts to crisp, mix everything together with a little mug of water and some soy sauce, allowing it to reduce down (tbh the mug of water is a guess, i just eyeball it so good luck x).
When the sauce reaches the thickness you desire, add some lime or lemon juice and rice vinegar and let it sit for a minute. Then, toss in your fried tofu, and it's ready to enjoy! 😊This dish pairs wonderfully with fragrant basmati rice, some crispy kale, and your choice of fried greens, such as bok choy or broccoli.