This tofu fry recipe combines fermented and fresh tofus with garlicky tomatoes and lemongrass. It's a good, easy recipe if you're looking for ways to cook with fermented tofu. It's also quite forgiving in terms of ingredients. Don't have fresh tomatoes? Go in with tomato paste. No lemongrass? Skip it. Want to add other aromatics and/or spices? Go for it. Hat tip to turmeric and fresh ginger.
We've all got ingredients we wouldn't be without, the items that get put on the list well before the jar is empty so we can ensure we're never caught short. One of mine is furu, a type of fermented tofu easily sourced from Chinese grocers.
More Ways to use fermented tofu
At any given time I have multiple varieties on the go. Ideally, a jar of basic red furu, which is inoculated with red yeast rice, and works great blended into batters and as a base for stewed dishes like moo jay pad tao ho yee, or vegan pork stir fried with fermented red tofu. Then there's a Taiwanese version I make myself that's fermented with pineapple, chilli, and sichuan peppercorn that I love with jok.
As for white fermented tofus, the Taiwanese sweet wine ferment with rice koji is extremely moreish and is perfect in dipping sauces and on toast. There's a recipe in A-Gong's table, a vegan Taiwanese cookbook, should you wish to try making it yourself. Another fermented white bean curd I love is Lao Gan Ma's furu with chilli oil. I often blend this one with mashed potato.
More than ten years ago I dumped some firm tofu into an alcoholic brine with sichuan peppercorns. I discovered it at the back of a cupboard a couple of years ago and it's perfect mixed with balhyo-aek, a Korean fermented fruit syrup, as a dressing for blanched vegetables.
But my absolute favourite fermented tofu is tua pu yan (โถ่วพูยั่น) or tao hoo yee tai yai (เต้าหู้ยี้ไทยใหญ่). This Shan-Thai ferment is made by semi drying cubes of tofu before mixing it with salt, chilli powder, spices, and some alcohol. The maker I purchase from uses tofu with a slightly smoky flavour, likely from burnt soy milk (from not stirring enough while heating), and it's gorgeous. This is what I prefer use in my tofu fry recipe, but any variety will do.
Tofu fry with tomatoes and fermented tofu
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil something neutral
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ tablespoon thinly sliced lemongrass from the root end only
- 1-3 pickled chillies, chopped optional
- 2 tablespoons fermented white tofu from a jar approximately! See notes
- 115 grams fresh tomatoes
- 115 grams firm tofu, crumbled by hand
- 3 tablespoons water or stock
- Chinese celery, cut into small segments optional
Instructions
- Cook the garlic and oil in a frying pan on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the lemongrass and pickled chillies (if using) and fry for another 20-30 seconds.
- Add the fermented tofu and mash everything together. Next up tip in the chopped tomatoes, crumbled tofu, and water. Fry, moving the contents of the pan about every so often, for around 15 minutes. Timing is up to you depending on whether you prefer a more wet or dry consistency.
- Add the Chinese celery, if using, in the last 30 seconds of cooking.