Black Pepper Tofu

Okay, guys. Little Bunny Tofu (for an explanation of this bizarre analogy, please see here) has survived at the zero hour. This tofu was pretty transcendent, largely because you could barely taste any tofu at all. All the spices and comforting warmth of the shallots and green onions got in a marimba-conga line together and just sashayed their way around the pan and into my tummy. This dish is bursting with flavor and heat and is exactly what you need on a cold, rainy, thunderstorm-y night.

So in case you've given up on life, on tofu, or on vegetarian dishes in general, try this. I mean it. It's pretty fantastic.

Black Pepper Tofu (adapted from Lottie and Doof)
(serves 2)

400 grams of extra-firm tofu
Cornstarch, to dust the tofu
Vegetable oil, for frying
6 small shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red chillies, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp white sugar
8 small, thin spring onions, cut into thin segments
white rice for serving

Cut the tofu into 3/4" blocks and toss them in cornflour, shaking off the excess. Pour in enough oil to come 0.5cm up the sides of a large frying pan, and bring up to frying heat. Fry the tofu in batches in the oil, turning the pieces as you go. Once they are golden all around, and have a thin crust, transfer to a paper towel.

Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan and throw in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft. While you wait, crush the peppercorns, using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. They should be quite coarse.

When the shallots and chillies are soft, add the soy sauces and the sugar, stir, then stir in the crushed pepper. Warm the tofu in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Enjoy!