What do you call the tofu that is hard and firm? I know it as taukwa. My late grandmother used to cut it into cubes and deep fry them till crispy.
We liked to eat the fried taukwa with either bottled chili sauce or grandma's home made chili sauce.
I have fried taukwa before and although I enjoy eating it, frying it is not so much fun. Due to the high water content, it splatters and seems to take forever to get all nice and browned.
Then I tried baking it in the oven but the result was not that great. Water pooled around the taukwa cubes and I could not get in browned and crispy in spite of draining it of as much moisture as I can.
My auntie attempted air frying the taukwa cubes to much success and I decided to try it too.
I bought a packet of 4 pieces of taukwa. To drain it of excess water, I place the taukwa on a metal tray lined with two pieces kitchen towels.
Then place another two pieces of kitchen towels on top and place another metal tray to press the taukwa. You could also use plates.
I did put something on top of the plate to weigh it down in order for water to be pressed out from the tofu. I sort of leave it like that for an hour or so or this could be done overnight in the fridge.
After that I cut each taukwa into four to get 16 cubes. I spray them with oil, toss and then spray again to make sure all sides are coated with oil.
Then they are air fried at 180C for 20 minutes, tossing at half time.
They are slightly browned after 10 minutes. Then continue air frying for another 10 minutes.
At the last 5 minutes, I turn the temperature up to 200C and this is what I get.
Evenly browned and cripsy taukwa. I like to eat them just like that with sweet chili sauce or as an added ingredient in salads.
Or next time I could make a sauce to coat the taukwa cubes like this one I ordered from my current favorite Korean fried chicken place.
Opppss...
hee..hee...hee...
I love to eat anything tofu. So much so that I sometimes forget that tofu is a processed food. I believe I would love the taukwa you air-fried. My mother use to deep freeze the tofu and then when the tofu is thawed, all the water will come out leaving layers of layers of layers of tofu skin within the tofu so it is very tasty when used to boil soup because the soup would go in between the layers within one tofu. I am not sure if use the thawed tofu to air-fried, would it be too dry because no more water inside the tofu.
ReplyDeleteLet me experiment. I shall buy tofu this Sunday and put in the freezer. Then I shall share the outcome.
DeleteI like taukua too, cook it with coriander leaves and prawns... and this type of beancurd, boil salty vegetables soup with it also nice...
ReplyDeleteI must try cooking it with coriander leaves and prawns. I also like tofu in soups.
DeleteMy girl loves tofu. Maybe I can try this - we have an air fryer.
ReplyDeleteDo try and blog about it :)
DeleteI don't like to fry taukwa. Selalu tak jadi crispy. Oil splattering, stuck on non-stick pan. At the end of cooking, the taukwa becomes like scrambled egg coz I keep stirring it.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Now I just pakai air fryer. So easy.
DeleteI love to eat this type of taukua with the sweet Thai sauce.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteLooks like a good condiment for salad but too bad I'm not really a fan of tofu, any sort of tofu. :P
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I love that. I have added tofu to salad.
DeleteI like fried tofu too and I agree with you the water content in it will make it splatter, so I rarely fry it at home. Now you've attracted me to get an air fryer seeing how wonderfully browned the tofu came out...but I can't get an air fryer just to fry tofu right? Coat your tofu in some spicy sauce and replicate the kimslaw and you won't have to order from your current favourite KFC anymore...wuahahahaha! :D P/S: The tofu you used here looks much firmer than the ones I use for salted vegetable soup (I know there are two kinds of tofu that can be used for salted vegetable soup, one firmer and the other softer). I'm lousy at recognising different types of tofu.
ReplyDeleteYou bet I will do that. That KFC is very expensive hah..hah... Oh yah, there is a softer version of that tofu but I always go for the hard one. Somehow I can recognize the hard one.
DeleteI did it last month. Or is it in December? Can't remember. Just rub with salt and pepper, let it season for a while. Then fry!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds good, a simple seasoning. Salt and pepper is always good.
Deletei like deep fried tofu too....nice to go with chili garlic sauce!
ReplyDeleteOh yah... with Thai Chili sauce also nice!
DeleteI love to eat this too. I think it was a popular Northern Malaysian food that often sees fried taukwa being sold by Malays and Chinese hawker stalls long long time ago. Their chilly sauce were so tasty with sprinkled ground nuts on top. I had to eat them hot!
ReplyDeleteYou have just reminded me of tauhu bakar! There is one van selling in Taman Tun area and it was my late uncle's favorite.
DeleteTofu, whether cooked soft or fried, both I like. Deep fried tofu, very appetizing to eat with sweet chili sauce.
ReplyDeleteMe too like both but somehow I prefer the fried ones.
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