Sweet and Sour Tofu

The thought of making my own sweet and sour sauce had never occured to me until I saw how simple it was. Now this take-away favourite will be done at home more regularly.

Ingredients
serves 2

300g tofu, firm 
cornflour 
100g pineapple (tinned, you could use fresh but there would be too much of it)
1 red pepper 
1 white onion 
2 tbsp veg oil

for the marinade
150ml soy sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
1cm3 root ginger, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

for the sweet and sour sauce
50g tomato puree 
100ml rice vinegar
125g sugar 
200ml pineapple juice 
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp cornflour 

Method

Begin with marinating the tofu. 

Cut the tofu into roughly 2cm cubes and place it in a bowl.

On a chopping board, finely chop the garlic, ginger and onion for the marinade. Then using the back of the knife press and scrape into a paste. Place in a small bowl and add the soy sauce, mixing in well.

Then add this marinade to the tofu and gently stir to combine, ensuring all the tofu has been covered. Leave to soak for at least 1 hour, longer if you have time.

Next prepare the sweet and sour sauce. 

Once again, on a chopping board bring the finely chopped garlic and ginger together into a paste by using the back of a knife. 

Then place all of the ingredients for the sauce, except for the cornstarch, in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for a few minutes.

In a small bowl put a tabespoon of cornflour then add a little of the sauce. Stir well to make it runny.  Then pour in the cornflour liquid back into the sweet and sour sauce and simmer for another few minutes until it thickens. Stir constantly until you get the right consistency of runny, thick and sticky.

Set aside to cool.  (This can be stored in a sterlised airtight jar. It will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge. It can also be frozen.) 

Start on preparing the dish. 

Fill the base of a shallow dish with cornflour. Remove the tofu from the marinade. Ensure you wipe off any ginger/garlic/onion.  Then place the tofu into the cornflour and roll to coat on all sides. Place on kitchen to remove any excess cornflour. Leave for 5 minutes then repeat the process, coating in more cornflour.

Next either deep-fry at 180C or use a large frying pan and heat up a 1cm deep amount of oil. Test the temperature with one piece of tofu. If it sizzles then add the remaining chunks. (You may need to do it in two batches. Don't let the oil get too hot or it will burn. Fry the tofu until it's golden brown. 

Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Start boiling the rice. 

Cut the onion and 1 red pepper into bite-sized pieces. 

In a large wok heat a tablespoon of groundnut oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and fry until soft. Drain the tinned pineapple. Cut into chunks if there not already. Then add to the onion and red pepper.

Quickly refry the tofu pieces for a minute and add to the stir fried vegetables. 

Then pour over the sweet and sour sauce and stir well.  Remove from the heat and serve immediately with the boiled rice.