FRIED TOFU WITH THAI SPECIAL SAUCE

Fried Tofu With Thai Special Sauce is a spicy and delicious, flavorful dish that can be served with steamed rice for lunch or dinner. The recipe is vegan and gluten free.
I first had this dish at my favorite Thai restaurant. Whenever we visit Indianapolis, my family loves having lunch or dinner at this place. This dish is also known as toa hoo sarm ross (tofu).

I love experimenting with tofu and this was one dish that I wanted to try at home. This is my take on thai sauce and is slightly different from what we had in restaurant. There is no bland tofu. The fried tofu combined with special sauce is truly irresistible and will simply melt in your mouth. You can substitute tofu with paneer or Indian cottage cheese.

You can also check out my other tofu recipes here:

• Honey Sriracha Tofu
• Spicy Basil Tofu
• Fried Tofu With Peanut Sauce
• Tofu Tikka Masala
• Tofu Bhurji
• Pad Phed With Tofu
• Spicy Pan Seared Tofu With kumquat Sauce

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Serves : 3

Ingredients for Fried Tofu With Thai Special Sauce

Extra firm tofu - 1 block (14 oz)
Oil - for frying

For the paste
Vegetable oil - ½ tsp
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Onion chopped - 1
Garlic cloves chopped - 6 to 8
Ginger grated - 1 inch
Lemon grass - 1 (chopped into 5 inch piece)
Tamarind - 1 small piece
Coconut grated (fresh / dry) - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - 5-6 strands
Green chilies / Thai bird chilies  - 3

Other ingredients
Cayenne pepper powder / Red chile powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Dried basil leaves - 1  tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1 teaspoon *
Sriracha chile sauce- 1 ½ tsp
Brown sugar - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Steps to prepare Fried Tofu With Thai Special Sauce

For the sauce:

• In a pan on medium heat add oil, cumin seeds, chopped onion, chopped ginger and garlic, lemon grass and saute until onions turn light brown in color.
• Now in a blender add the sauteed ingredients from the above step, tamarind, grated coconut, coriander leaves and green chilies. Add about half cup of warm water and blend it to a smooth paste.
• Transfer the paste to a pan on medium heat. Add turmeric powder, cayenne powder, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and sriracha sauce.
• Add water for desired consistency, dried basil leaves and salt to taste and bring it to a nice boil. Sauce is now ready.

For frying the tofu:

• Heat oil for frying. See that atleast 40 % of the pan is covered with oil.
• Drain the tofu so that its reasonably dry. I press them between the kitchen towel to remove any excess water.
• Cut them into desired shape (triangle, rectangle, cube) and sprinkle salt on them.
• Once the oil is hot, fry the tofu cubes in batches until it gets a golden brown color on both the sides. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
• Drain to paper towels to absorb excess oil.

While the tofu is warm, add it to the prepared sauce and toss well till they are coated. Garnish it with coriander leaves or cilantro and serve immediately with steamed rice or your favorite side.

Tip:

• Fish sauce is traditionally used in the recipe, I have substituted Worcestershire sauce instead.
• Adjust the sweetness, tanginess and spiciness for the sauce as per your taste.
• Mix the tofu with the sauce when you are ready to serve.
• You can also use fresh basil leaves in the recipe.
• While frying tofu, do not overcrowd the pan.
• If the oil is cold, tofu will absorb excess oil while frying. If its very hot, then tofu will turn brown soon. Its best practice to fry switching the flame between medium and medium-high.
• To check if the oil is hot, take a small piece of tofu and put it in oil. If it sizzles it means oil is ready for frying.
• You can also coat the tofu with corn starch before frying if required (optional).

*I have used a vegan / vegetarian version of Worcestershire sauce. Make sure you check the ingredient list in the sauce before you use it.
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