Name: Vietnamese Tofu
Yield: Serves 4 as a snack
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons turmeric; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1–2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped, or 1–2 teaspoons pul biber or Aleppo pepper; a small bunch sweet basil leaves (reserve a few for garnishing); 3 tablespoons naturally brewed soy sauce; 3 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped; 1 tablespoon mirin; 2 tablespoons groundnut, sesame or coconut oil; 3 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely chopped; a thin finger of ginger, peeled and very finely chopped or grated; 300 g/10 oz firm tofu, rinsed, drained, patted dry and cut into bite-sized cubes; 2 teaspoons jaggery, honey or brown sugar (or try coconut sugar)

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a snack

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Spirit & Spice

By Ghillie Basan

Published 2019

About

Tofu tends to be one of those love-it-or-hate-it ingredients because it can be very bland, but over the years I have managed to convert many haters with this Vietnamese way of cooking it. The key is to pack the marinade with lots of flavour, which the tofu absorbs, and then to stir-fry it quickly. In Vietnam, aromatic pepper or purple basil leaves are often added but you can toss in sweet basil, coriander or lime leaves. The peanuts added at the end add contrasting texture to the smooth tof