魚香脆皮豆腐 (Yu Xiang Cui Pi Do Fu)

There are few bites of food more delicious than a piece of deep-fried tofu: crisp on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth creamy on the inside. This dish pairs the incredible textures of fried tofu with the intense, aromatic flavors of yu xiang (魚香) sauce—a combination of ginger, garlic, scallions, and chilies [1].

Ingredients

1 lb soft tofu
1 inch ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, chopped
8 dried red chilies, chopped
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
Vegetable oil

This dish starts with soft tofu, which is just strong enough to hold its shape when fried, but will melt in your mouth when eaten [2]. I’d recommend against making this recipe with firm tofu, as you end up with a very different final texture. Do not use silken tofu for this recipe—it is too delicate and will fall apart when fried. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes. Gently pat the tofu pieces dry with a paper towel, then set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to air dry. Drying the surface of water will help reduce splatter when the tofu hits the hot oil.

Tofu is notorious for sticking to pans, so we will need a surface which is both nonstick and safe at high temperatures. This means one of only two surfaces—cast iron or carbon steel. Use a cast iron or carbon steel pan or wok, with high enough sides to safely hold at least 1½ inches of frying oil. If you use a stainless steel pan, or if your cast iron is not well seasoned, the tofu will stick to the bottom of the pan and you will have a bad day [3]. Bring this oil up to a temperature of 375° F, using a thermometer to monitor the temperature.

We will also need a landing pad for the freshly fried tofu blocks, where they can cool off while not reabsorbing oil and becoming greasy and soggy. The best way to do this is to lay some paper towels on a sheet tray, then placing a cooling rack on top. That way, oil can drain from the tofu and be absorbed away from the food. The elevated cooling rack also prevents moisture from building up under the fried tofu.

When the oil is up to temperature, carefully lower the tofu blocks into the hot oil using a metal spatula. Work in small batches, as tofu has a high water content, and will drop the oil temperature more than most foods of a similar size. Fry the tofu for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. The tofu should float to the surface of the oil when it’s close to done, but on occasion you may have to persuade a piece of tofu to release itself from the bottom of the pan via gentle application of the spatula or chopsticks.

While the tofu cools, we can prepare the yu xiang sauce. Heat about 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced ginger, garlic, finely chopped scallion whites, and dried red chilies to the pan. Fry the aromatics for 1 minute until they are fragrant, then add the sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to the pan, mixing until the sugar dissolves. To thicken the sauce, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with ¼ cup water to form a slurry. Pour this slurry into the pan and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Add the reserved chopped scallion greens to the sauce, stir to combine, and remove the sauce from the heat.

Once the sauce is ready, we can serve the dish! Since the fried tofu can lose its crispness if soaked in the sauce for too long, wait until immediately prior to service before pouring the sauce over the plated fried tofu. Alternatively, you can serve the tofu on a plate with a bowl of sauce on the side for dipping or spooning. This will keep the tofu crispy for the duration of the meal!

Substitutions

You can use medium tofu for this dish in a pinch, but I would avoid firm tofu for this application. Likewise, do not use silken tofu, which is too fragile to be fried. You can adjust the spice level of the dish by reducing the number of dried red chilies. You can also substitute fresh chilies or chili sauce.

[1] Yu xiang is sometimes translated to “hot garlic sauce” on English menus. The literal Chinese meaning of “yu xiang” is “fish fragrance.” Despite this, the sauce contains no fish, and is rarely served with seafood, making the origins of the name a bit of a mystery. Some food historians have suggested that the name instead refers to the Hunan-Sichuan region, where yu xiang sauce is most commonly found.

[2] Standard tofu (like the soft, medium, and hard blocks most commonly seen in grocery stores), are formed of pressed curds of coagulated soymilk. The “hardness” of these blocks is correlated to the density to which the curds are pressed during manufacturing.

[3] If you have a basket-style deep fryer, that will work fine too, but few home kitchens are equipped with one.

Recipe

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 15 min Total Time: 25 min

Difficulty: 4/5

Heat Sources: 2 burners

Equipment: cast iron pan or wok, metal spatula or slotted spoon, thermometer, saucepan

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb soft tofu
1 inch ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, chopped
8 dried red chilies, chopped
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes. Using a paper towel, carefully blot the sides of each tofu piece dry. Prepare a holding area for the fried tofu by placing a cooling rack on a sheet tray.

2. Fill a cast iron pan or wok with oil to a depth of at least 1½ inches. Bring the oil to a temperature of 375° F. When the oil is up to temperature, place a piece of tofu onto a spatula or slotted spoon, and carefully lower it into the hot oil. Repeat for the remaining pieces of tofu, working in batches if necessary so as to not crowd the pan.

3. Fry the tofu pieces for about 5 minutes, or until deeply golden brown. Remove the tofu pieces to the cooling rack.

4. Heat about 1 tsp vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced ginger, garlic, chopped scallion whites, and red chilies to the pan, and fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.

5. Add the sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to the pan, and mix well.

6. Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup water to form a cornstarch slurry, and pour the slurry into the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

7. Add the chopped scallion greens to the sauce, stir to combine, and remove from the heat.

8. Plate the fried tofu pieces and pour the sauce over just prior to service. Alternatively, you can serve the tofu with a bowl of sauce on the side.