Crispy Teriyaki Tofu with Chinese Pancake and Plum Sauce
We're really proud of this one. It's a taste explosion – crispy fried teriyaki tofu with plum sauce and Chinese pancakes. It's an amazing combination of flavours and textures. Easy to prep and make several times, as the sauces will last over a week in the fridge.
Takes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 250 g firm tofu
For the Plum Sauce:
- 4 ripe plums
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 5 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 1 clove
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground fennel or seeds
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Pinch of salt
For the Teriyaki Sauce:
- ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ red chilli
- ½ stalk lemongrass
- 5 tbsp tamari
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 pak choi
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
For the Chinese Pancake:
- 1 x 250 ml cup white flour (approx. 8 oz)
- 1½ x 250 ml cups water (approx. 12 oz)
- Large pinch of salt
- 2 heaped tsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
For the Raw Veg (to serve):
- Scallions (spring onions)
- Carrots
Instructions
- Press the tofu:Place the tofu block on a chopping board and set a weight on top to press it. This helps remove excess moisture, making it easier to brown when cooking.
- Make the plum sauce:Halve the plums, remove the stones, and add them to a blender along with the onion, vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce, ginger, clove, cinnamon, fennel, allspice, black pepper, and salt. Blend until smooth.Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the raw onion and ginger flavours mellow. Set aside.
- Make the teriyaki sauce:Rinse the blender and add all the teriyaki sauce ingredients (ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass, tamari, maple syrup, and water). Blend until smooth. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, finely chop the ginger, garlic, and lemongrass before blending. Set aside in a jug.
- Make the pancakes:In the blender, combine all pancake ingredients (flour, water, salt, flax seeds, and sesame oil) and blend until smooth. The batter will be loose and runny, which is fine.
- Cook the tofu:Slice the pressed tofu block in half.Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot. Add 2 tbsp of oil and fry the tofu until evenly browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and slice into thin strips at a slight angle.Return half the tofu to the pan, pour half of the teriyaki sauce over it, and cook until the tofu absorbs the sauce and becomes glazed. Repeat with the remaining tofu and teriyaki sauce. Set aside.
- Cook the pak choi:Cut the base off the pak choi and separate 4 long stalks. Add these to the pan with 4 tbsp of water to deglaze it. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any flavour stuck to the pan.Cook until the pak choi softens slightly but remains vibrant green. Add more water if it evaporates too quickly.
- Cook the pancakes:Heat a clean non-stick frying pan over high heat, then reduce to medium. Add 1 tbsp of oil and pour in enough batter to create a thin, crêpe-like pancake.When bubbles form and the top dries out, flip the pancake and cook until the other side is golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, yielding about 6 pancakes.
- Plate up:Place a pancake on each plate and spread a generous amount of plum sauce on top. Thinly slice the pak choi, scallions, and carrots on a diagonal, and sprinkle them over the plum sauce. Add about ⅙ of the tofu to each pancake.For a final touch, finely slice a red chilli and sprinkle it along with sesame seeds over the top.Serve and enjoy!