Tag: Thai
Fried Tofu
Fried Tofu
This is new territory for me. For my entire life, especially being a butcher, I’ve talked mad shit about tofu. MAD SHIT. How wrong I’ve been. If you are as closed minded about tofu as I used to be, I recommend trying it fried like this first. It is a great gateway into eating tofu. I had recently had it in a bowl of Kuay Jub at my favorite Thai restaurant, On’s Kitchen. And then something clicked in my head and stomach with it. I kinda can’t stop eating it. Maybe because I’m stoned as fuck. The first thing you want to look for when frying tofu is that it has to be firm tofu. Anything less than firm tofu has too much moisture and won’t hold it’s shape very well. The beauty of tofu is that it is $.99 a brick at my local Asian market. It also takes on pretty much whatever flavor you give it. It is great in stir fry, soups, or just on it’s own like how I prepared it.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1 brick firm tofu
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- salt
Garnishes
- siracha
- green onion
- toasted sesame seeds
- fried garlic
Instructions
- For frying tofu, make sure to use firm tofu.
- Wrap tofu in a couple layers of paper towel.
- Weigh down the tofu with another plate and something that weights around 3lbs. Let it be for 20 minutes. It is important when frying tofu to get out as much moisture as possible so the oil doesn’t spatter. Also, if there is any moisture left on the outside of the tofu, they will slightly stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Cut brick into 12 pieces. If you want them to be smaller, cut them smaller. Unless you plan on deep frying the tofu, I wouldn’t cut them any larger. Pat these down with more paper towel.
- Add cooking oil to a skillet on medium high heat. Since I’m using a smaller skillet, I cooked the tofu in 2 batches. Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
- Flip tp the other side and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Drain tofu on pare towel of excess grease. Salt.
- Throw the tofu in a bowl and toss with green onions, toasted sesame seed, siracha, and fried garlic.
- Eat the fuck out of this.
Thai Fish Cakes
Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Man Pla)
While there’s a few steps to making his wonderful appetizer, they are all fairly simple. Use a lean white fleshed fish such as tilapia, hake, cod, pollock, catfish, sole, or flounder. If using frozen, make sure that it is fully defrosted and dried of any excess moisture. I really like the long beans added to this. It gives the fish cakes a nice crunch. Make sure when handling the paste that your hands and spoon are wet. This stuff will stick to everything since there isn’t any flour or breadcrumbs coating the outside.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean boneless skinless white fleshed fish (tilapia, cod, hake, catfish, pollock, sole, flounder)
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup long beans finely chopped
- 1/3 cup basil finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the fish, red curry paste, egg, sugar, and fish sauce.
- Blend until it is a fairly smooth paste. It should stick to the side of a spoon.
- Add the fish paste mixture to a bowl. Add the long beans and the basil. Mix together.
- Add the cooking oil to a skillet on medium high heat. Make sure that your hands and spoon are wet before touching the mixture. It is really sticky. Portion out the mixture into 8 meatball sized clumps. Flatten into a patty, about 1/2 an inch thick. Cook in 2 batches, 4 of the patties for 2 minutes on the first side.
- Flip to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Let rest on a paper towel. Serve with a Thai chili dipping sauce.
