Want a Tofu Dish that Even Confirmed Carnivores Will Love? Try Fried Tofu Nuggets

By Carolyn J. Phillips

Chinese culinary creativity is rarely surpassed, and with soy beans and bean curd, chefs have the perfect medium with which to exercise their imaginations.

Bean curd comes in so many different textures and incarnations that books could be written about little else in the Chinese culinary firmament. Solid squares of regular or soft bean curd are the most common forms, and this is what usually appears on your plate in Chinese restaurants. But extra-firm bean curd (lao doufu), is better suited for skewering or for use in recipes where the tofu might otherwise break apart.

Related: Looking for tasty Hawaiian-style tofu?

When blocks of bean curd have had most of their moisture squeezed out, the result is meaty pressed bean curd (doufugan). When the tofu is formed into sheets that are flattened into the thinnest of layers and then folded onto each other it is called a "hundred layers" (baiye).

Related: Going vegetarian? Real veggies trump faux meat.

On the other end of the spectrum is tender bean curd (nen doufu), or its quivering cousin, "flower bean curd" (douhua), which looks like custard to most people. The denizens of Beijing call an even softer variety "bean curd brains" (doufunao).

Related: Traditional Japanese miso soup makes a perfect home for tofu.

Whatever form your doufu takes, try to buy an organic, fresh variety. The flavor is incomparable. Light and delicious, the taste is much like farmer cheese, as there are no preservatives to cloud the flavor. Bean curd should be used immediately, but if you have to hold it for a short while, cover it with water and refrigerate in a closed container.

Related: Converting Texas meat eaters to tofu.

Just about any bean curd is fine with me, but this deep fried preparation always gets my mouth watering. The recipe below is a riff on the Taiwanese street food called Salty Crispy Chicken. This delicious vegan snack will please even sworn carnivores.

Crispy Bean Curd Nuggets

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer or cocktail snack

Ingredients

1 block (1 pound) fresh natural organic firm bean curd

2 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and finely chopped

1 green onion, trimmed and finely chopped

1½ teaspoons peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger

2½ teaspoon five spice powder (divided)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt (divided)

½ teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablespoon regular soy sauce

½ cup Taiwanese sweet potato flour (diguafen or fanshufen in Chinese, it can be found in most well-stocked Chinese groceries; if unavailable, use cornstarch)

2 cups peanut or vegetable oil

Directions (or check out a step-by-step slide show of instructions)

1. Pat the bean curd dry with a towel and slice it horizontally into two halves. Cut down and across the block four times each way to form 32 small cubes. Place the cubes in a clean towel set in a bowl or colander. Cover the bean curd with the top of the towel and lightly press down to sponge off some of the water. Let the bean curd sit in the towel for about an hour to remove most of the excess water.

2. Mix the garlic, green onion, ginger, ½ teaspoon five spice powder, black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cubed bean curd. Toss together and add the rice wine and soy sauce before tossing again. Cover the bowl, refrigerate and let the bean curd marinate from 1 to 3 hours.

3. Drain off the liquid. Sprinkle the sweet potato flour and the rest of the five spice powder over the bean curd, and use your fingers to toss the bean curd so that each cube is coated with the flour. (This dish may be prepared ahead of time up to this point.)

4. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium high until a wooden chopstick inserted in the oil immediately bubbles all over. Place a dry colander or Chinese spider on top of a work bowl next to the stove. Add a handful of the coated bean curd carefully to the hot oil. As soon as they have browned on one side, use a spatula to turn them over. When all of the cubes are an even golden brown, remove them to the colander or spider to drain. Return the oil to the original heat and add another handful of the coated bean curd. When all of it has been fried, plate the fried bean curd, sprinkle with the rest of the salt and serve immediately while it is still hot and crunchy.

Zester Daily contributor Carolyn J. Phillips lived in Taiwan for eight years and recently completed her first book, a collection of regional Chinese recipes. She writes a blog, Out to Lunch, and is a member of the IACP and the Slow Food Movement. Phillips is based in California.

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