Easy Chili Bean curd or Chili Tofu

#3 Rice side dish recipe

One thing that always finds in my kitchen freezer is Panner, a popular cheese in India. A block of cheese is made out of a process called curdling milk.

Panner is not so common, yet common among Indians, but not other ethnicities in Singapore.

I started to have tofu or Bean curd from Chinese cuisines, and I prefer tofu over bean curd due to its silky smooth, soft texture. Bean curd is firm in texture, and soy taste is quite substantial when compared with tofu.

Tofu’s are made out of bean curd when pressed and formed, and yes, the source is soy milk.

I have been developing Panner recipes, which I will share in due course, once those recipes are great to share.

The other day I saw a block of bean curd sitting in my refrigerator and I found it when I started to think of what to make for a rice side dish — so thought to make Chili bean curd, which I immediately formulated in my mind.

Check out this article on how to handle tofu. Leah Favela has written an excellent way of handling tofu. Tofu: You’re Doing It Wrong

Ingredients

1 cup diced bean curd or tofu (prefer small sizes, pat dry tofu or bean curd before cut them in cubes. It should be water-free)

1 teaspoon of corn flour (to dust if using tofu instead of bean curd)

1 slice big Onion

1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste

2–3 slit green chilies

1 teaspoon pepper powder

1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes (red pepper flakes)

2–3 tablespoon chili sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

1–2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1/4 cup cornstarch slurry (2 teaspoon corn flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3–4 tablespoon cooking oil

Method

1. Shallow Fry bean curd or cornflour dusted tofu till they are lightly brown. Frying them too much would make it too hard. It should take only 1–2 minutes.
2. Keep them on a paper towel to dry out the excess oil if there is any.
3. Heat a pan on a low-medium flame with little oil, add onion, ginger-garlic paste, and green chilies with a bit of salt. Saute them until onion is translucent.
4. Add pepper powder and chili flakes and saute them for a minute.
5. Add chili sauce, saute for a minute.
6. Add vinegar and soy sauce and let it cook for a minute.
7. Add cornstarch slurry and mix them well. Immediately remove the pan from the fire as the slurry will start to thicken.
8. Lastly, mix the fried tofu or bean curd and combine it well.
9. Let the dish sit for another 5–10 minutes and serve with rice.

Notes

• I usually keep bean curd’s in the refrigerator in a bowl of water. But do remember to change the water every day.