Tofu is one of those ingredients that has the ability to truly divide the crowd. I must admit that long before I went vegan, I tried several tofu dishes that left me seriously underwhelmed.
Now, I’ve changed camps completely and I am a huge tofu fan. The trick lies in the correct cooking method… For me the tastiest way is marinating well pressed tofu in a little soy sauce, sprinkling it with cornflour (or cornstarch in the US) and frying it in a little oil until golden and beautifully crispy on the outside (yet nicely chewy on the inside). Seriously, whenever I make tofu that way, I must keep one eye on my wok and the other on Duncan, who suddenly appears by my side with his greedy little mitts ready to delve into my freshly fried tofu stack. This recipe treats lovely chewy tofu pieces (you can bake them too for this recipe, see below) to a bath of deliciously aromatic black pepper sauce. Add as much pepper as you can handle, bearing in mind that chilli will also add another kick dimension. I went for just over a teaspoon and found it perfectly balanced.
60 ml / 4 tbsp all purpose soy sauce* or tamari (for GF version) 5 tsp rice wine vinegar 2 tbsp / 30 ml maple syrup or dark brown sugar 3 level tsp cornflour / cornstarch 4 large garlic cloves, pressed or chopped very finely 5 tsp grated ginger 1 hot chilli pepper, sliced thinly or chilli flakes, to taste 4 small spring onions, sliced thinly 2-3 tsp freshly ground black pepper, adjust to taste sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)
