My family (except for the littlest one) loves tofu. It’s one food item that’s a “regular” inside our fridge. From soft to the extra firm kind, I whip something up for them depending on their mood. I steam, deep fry, stir fry, and add it as the main protein in their favorite food like Pancit. So far, they haven’t met a tofu dish that they didn’t like and I hope it stays that way.
There was this one time when I was in a hurry to make lunch. My kindergartener just finished his online classes and I had no idea what to cook. I remembered we had a few packs of tofu and I was ready to just fry them and serve with some steamed veggies. Then an idea came to me when I noticed the half-opened bottle of sweet chili sauce by the fridge door. So I cubed and pressed the tofu between layers of paper towels, fried ‘em to a crisp then tossed them in a bubbling sweet chili sauce goodness.
They all loved it! My kids (excluding the littlest one again) described it as eating meat (even) without the meat. Their plates and the platter it was served in were all “cleaned” and one of the best parts is, it only took me 15 minutes and it was done!
Quick and Easy Tofu in Sweet-Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pack 14oz or 16oz Firm tofu, I used House Foods
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ⅔ cup sweet chili sauce I used Thai Kitchen
- Canola oil for frying
- Pinch of salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Drain tofu and cut into small cubes. Place between sheets of paper towels and slightly press to remove excess liquid. Heat a large frying pan and add about ½ inch of oil. I first cut the tofu in half horizontally, then into small cubes.
- Dredge tofu pieces in cornstarch then fry in oil (use about ½ inch of oil), flipping halfway until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle a pinch of salt while hot. Set aside.
- Remove oil from the frying pan but leave 2 tablespoons. Saute the onion until translucent then add the garlic. Pour the sweet chili sauce and add in the grated ginger. On high heat, let the sauce come to a boil then put the fried tofu. Season with ground black pepper and toss (using 2 wooden spoons) until all the sauce is absorbed, about a minute.
- Serve immediately over rice.
