Five-Spice Smoked Tofu Nuggets with Satay Dressing
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- Serves: Makes 8
- Preparation: 15
- Cooking: 5
- Ready: 20
These vegan nuggets are ridiculously delicious, great on the end of skewers and dipped into the satay sauce as party food!
Ingredients
For the tofu nuggets (makes 8 nuggets)
- 1 x 225 g box of smoked tofu
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- a large pinch of smoked paprika
- 300 ml vegetable oil
- 2-4 tablespoons satay dressing (see below)
For the satay dressing (makes 6 portions)
- 1 teaspoon light soft brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 4 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or chunky is fine, and I actually find the cheaper versions work best)
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1¼ tablespoons vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1¼ tablespoons sriracha, to taste
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
Method
To make the tofu nuggets
Lay the block of tofu on a few sheets of kitchen paper. Fold another sheet of kitchen paper and use to press down gently on the top to absorb the moisture.
Cut the tofu into 8 equal-sized cubes. Put the cornflour in a shallow bowl, add the five-spice powder and paprika and mix well. Toss the tofu cubes in the spiced cornflour until they are dusted on all sides.
Pour the vegetable oil into a wok and place over a high heat. Once hot, shake off any excess flour then very carefully lower each nugget into the hot oil using a slotted spoon or tongs. Deep-fry, turning regularly (and very carefully), for 4-5 minutes until all sides are golden brown and crisp.
Remove the tofu from the pan using a slotted spoon or tongs and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle the cubes with flaked sea salt while they are still hot – this helps to keep them crispy. Thread them on to skewers and serve with the dressing for dipping.
To make the satay dressing
Dissolve the sugar in the lime juice, then put it into a blender with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust as you see fit. That’s it.
To store
Once made, it will keep fine in a jar in the fridge for ages.
The only problem with making the peanut sauce is you’ll end up wanting to down it straight from the jar. It’s addictive stuff. It makes a great dipping sauce and salad dressing and is also great on Buddha bowls and lots of noodle dishes.
Additional notes
Recipe courtesy of Harper Collins Publishers UK
Taken from Let’s Eat by Elly Pear, published by Harper Collins Publishers UK, priced £20.00 in hardback
“I’ve basically made vegan chicken nuggets by accident. Honestly. And I don’t regret it for a minute. These things are ridiculously delicious and I can’t recommend them enough. They’re great on the end of skewers and dipped into the satay sauce as party food. But if you don’t want to serve this as a canapé, the cubes of tofu are delicious on a bed of brown rice with some pak choy and the satay sauce drizzled over the top. The tofu you choose is important. You want to look for one that comes as a big, solid, wet cube and nearly always in a cardboard box. Open the box and inside you’ll see a block of tofu in a little liquid, sealed inside a plastic package. The recipe requires this soft, wet kind to create the steam inside the crust that makes it puff up. Lay the block of tofu on a few sheets of kitchen paper. Fold another sheet of kitchen paper and use to press down gently on the top to absorb the moisture. Cut the tofu into 8 equal-sized cubes. Put the cornflour in a shallow bowl, add the five-spice powder and paprika and mix well. Toss the tofu cubes in the spiced cornflour until they are dusted on all sides.”
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