Name: Black pepper tofu
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 5 tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns (use a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder); 2 tbsp caster sugar; 800 g firm tofu (such as Tau Kwa brand); 4 tsp dark soy sauce; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis); cornflour to dust the tofu; 8 fresh red chillies (fairly mild ones), thinly sliced; 16 small and thin spring onions, cut into 3cm segments; 12 garlic cloves, crushed; vegetable oil for frying; 3 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger; 12 small shallots (350 g in total), thinly sliced; 150 g butter

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Plenty

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Published 2010

About

You will definitely surprise yourself with this one. It is an extremely delicious dish that’s quick and straightforward to make, but looks as if it’s been prepared at a top Chinese restaurant. It is fiery, both from the chillies and the black pepper; you can moderate this by reducing their quantity a little. However, the whole point is spiciness so don’t go too far.