Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce w/ Coconut Rice

Although this dish is vegan, it definitely tastes decadent. Fried tofu in a rich sauce is very flavorful and substantial. Sarah didn’t even like tofu until she’d had it fried (which is the most traditional preparation anyway). We liked this so much we made it two weeks in a row.

The tofu preparation is basically Darlene Schmidt’s Thai recipe, while the dish itself is from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

1 1/2 –2 lbs tofu

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar (optional)

1 cup oil for frying

1 cup sugar

6 limes

1 clove garlic, minced

2 TB. soy sauce or tamari

1/2 cup + 2 TB. water, preferably warm

1 Tb brown sugar

1/2 cup peeled and sliced shallots
1 t. freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)

chopped fresh cilantro (optional) for garnish

(1) Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes. You should do this by putting it between two cutting boards, two plates, etc. and weighing it down with something heavy. Drain off the water every 5 minutes or so. After the first five minutes, you can also add some paper towels on either side. Do not skip this step. Dense, drier tofu tastes much better than unpressed tofu.

(2) Meanwhile, mix together 2 TB. water, garlic, soy sauce, zest of two limes, juice of four limes and brown sugar. Set aside. You are essentially making imitation fish sauce here, and it’s a startling likeness to the real thing (maybe even better, in my opinion).

(3) Heat up the oil in a large, heavy frying pan, preferably nonstick or cast iron.

(4) Mix together the sesame seeds, cornstarch, flour, salt and optional sugar. Cut the tofu into one inch cubes and roll around in this mixture (or shake in a bag) until well coated.

(5) When the oil is hot, i.e. something placed in it sizzles, add all of the tofu. Fry for 3–5 minutes per side, until it has a nice crust, then remove with tongs or a spatula to paper towels. It’s hard to burn tofu, so feel free to fry it longer if you’d like.

(6) Pour off the oil into a bowl or jar to cool–it can clog your sink if you pour it in there–and wipe the pan clean.

(7) Put the pan back on medium heat and add the sugar. Tilt or shake the pan occasionally and/or add 1–2 t. of water for even cooking, and cook until liquefied and then darkened to an amber color.

(8) When the sugar is carmelized, quickly and at arms length add 1/2 cup of water and the “fish sauce” from step 2. Cook, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until the liquid is absorbed into the caramel. Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about five minutes.

(9) Add the black pepper and the juice from the two remaining limes, then add your fried tofu. Cook until tofu is heated and serve with rice (below) and optional cilantro.

You can serve the tofu with plain rice if you’d like, but this goes really well. You should of course be cooking it at the same time you’re preparing the tofu.

2 cups jasmine rice, washed
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk

1 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 t. salt

finely grated zest of 1 lime (e.g. from one of the limes used above)

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Combine first five ingreidents (through salt) in a saucepan and boil. Lower heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the lime zest and stir with a fork. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes.

To make the toasted coconut garnish, heat as skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coconut and cook until brown and toasty, about 5–10 minutes

Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and serve topped with coconut.

Even someone with a sweeth tooth, might exclaim, “Caramel? For dinner?” I only initially convinced Sarah to try this after telling her I was making “Sweet and Sour Tofu.” The dish really does have a general profile of sweet and sour, although the slight bitterness of the caramel adds yet another flavor.

For a weekday preparation, you could easily skip the coating and frying of the tofu (it cooks anyway in the sugar, and Bittman says that plain pressed tofu works fine) and serve the dish with plain rice.