Mar 6, 2012
10
reviews
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Black Pepper Tofu

The recipe for this spicy, fried bean curd comes from Plenty (Chronicle Books, 2011) by Yotam Ottolenghi. This recipe first appeared in our December 2011 issue along with our cookbook roundup Readable Feast.
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Black Pepper Tofu Enlarge Image Credit: Todd Coleman
SERVES 4–6

INGREDIENTS

2 cups canola oil
1 ¾ lb. firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
½ cup cornstarch
11 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. finely chopped ginger
12 small shallots, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, crushed
8 red serrano chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced
5 tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp. kecap manis (sweet soy sauce; available at onlinefoodgrocery.com)
3 tbsp. light soy sauce
4 tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. sugar
16 small scallions, cut into 1 ¼″ pieces
Cooked white rice, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Toss tofu and cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated. Fry tofu until browned all over, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside; discard oil, and wipe skillet clean. Return skillet to medium heat with butter. Add ginger, shallots, garlic, and chiles; cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in pepper, soy sauces, and sugar. Return tofu to skillet; cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Stir in scallions; serve over rice.

Black Pepper Tofu

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #143

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Ratings & Reviews (10)

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This recipe looks great! Just wanted to double-check: does the recipe really call for 11 tbsps of butter?
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Had to try this. Deeee-lish! One little quip however, which technically has nothing to do with the recipe. Do not, under any circumstances, buy anything from onlinefoodgrocery.com, or efooddepot.com, or any other similar sites all run by the same company. They are famous for shipping the wrong orders, sometimes never shipping your order at all. You're much safer just getting your sweet soy sauce from Amazon.
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do I really have to use all that butter?
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I used extra virgin olive oil just to coat the pan--no butter. It was delicious.
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So good I bought the cookbook.
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Add BLACK MUSHROOMS for the ultimate compliment to this dish!
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Butter doesn't do as well as a Canola/Sesame oil combo. Try 1/4 cup of cold water mixed with 1/2 tsp of corn starch to be added in the last five minutes for better tofu glazing.
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Intense. Good flavor and texture but a little too peppery all around for me, and I am one who carries a vial of cayenne pepper in my pack for whenever I eat out.

I agree on the notion of using less oil for the second cooking. Not sure of an exact amount, but 11 tablespoons was overkill for me (nice number, though!). Couldn't decide on one fat so I used a little of everything (butter, olive, canola, and a touch of sesame). I ended up draining off a bunch of oil at the end.

Also added some red bell pepper and small carrots somewhere in the middle of the cooking process.

And thank you to the person who suggested the cornstarch and water in the end for the gloze!

I wonder how it might be with some red sichuan peppers?
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Dinged for too much butter, which makes the dish very oily. I used half as much, and my 9 year-old was licking her plate clean.
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TO DIE FOR! This sticky asian style sauce is what you pray to find when dining out! As recommended on another site, I used regular soy sauce and added two tablespoons of honey. Used vegan substitute for butter. Reduced the amount of black pepper - 5 tbsp seemed to overwhelm the dish. Enjoy!!
Black Pepper Tofu 5 5 7 10

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