China · Home-style
Crispy Pan-Fried Tofu
Firm tofu slices coated in cornstarch and egg, fried to a golden shell and finished in a salty-sweet soy and oyster sauce. Crisp outside, soft within.
This is the modern restaurant version of tofu, where pressing the curd firm and frying it hard gives a crust that the more delicate steamed or mapo preparations never have. It travels well as a hot dish in a small restaurant and is one of the few tofu recipes where the frying, not the sauce, is the point. Slice evenly and keep the heat low, or the egg layer burns before the middle sets.
Ingredients
- firm tofu1 pieces
- eggs2 pieces
- cornstarch50 g
- light soy sauce20 g
- oyster sauce10 g
- dark soy sauce5 g
- sugar10 g
Directions
- 1
Beat the eggs into a bowl and set aside.
- 2
Mix the sauce: light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch with 200 ml of water.
- 3
Slice the firm tofu, about 1.2 cm thick.
- 4
Spread the cornstarch on a plate, coat the tofu slices in it, then in the egg mixture, and set aside.
- 5
Heat the wok and add 18 ml of oil; wait 10 seconds for the oil to come up to temperature.
- 6
Lay the egg-coated tofu slices in the wok in an even layer and fry over low heat until golden, then flip.
- 7
Once both sides are golden, pour in the sauce so every slice is bathed in it, and cook over high heat for 3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.