Spicy Tofu With Lemon Grass And Chiles

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb chinese-style tofu, soft or firm (see note)
• 1/3 cup canola oil or 1/3 cup peanut oil, plus more as needed
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 stalks very fresh lemongrass, part finely minced to a paste,with
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (about 1/3 cup, see note)
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 -3 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste (hot red chile paste, see note)
• shredded lettuce
• rice

Recipe

• 1 drain the tofu and cut into 1 1/2-inch squares.
• 2 pat as dry as possible with paper towels.
• 3 in a heavy wok or large saute pan, heat the oil until it reaches medium-hot, but do not allow to smoke.
• 4 toss dried tofu cubes with cornstarch to coat lightly, and shake off excess in a sieve or colander.
• 5 set carefully in the hot oil (don't crowd; cook in batches if necessary) and cook until lightly brown and crisp on all sides.
• 6 soft tofu won't get as crisp as firm.
• 7 remove browned cubes from the pan, drain on paper towels and keep warm.
• 8 pour off all the oil but 3 tablespoons and set the pan over medium-high heat.
• 9 return the tofu to the pan and toss with the sugar; saute briefly until the sugar begins to melt.
• 10 add the lemon grass and garlic, and cook, tossing, until the lemon grass is fragrant.
• 11 add the sambal oelek paste and cook, tossing, until the red sauce starts to turn brown.
• 12 using 1 tablespoon makes the dish mildly spicy, 2 tablespoons makes it medium spicy, and 3 tablespoons makes it downright hot.
• 13 line a platter with shredded lettuce and spoon the cooked tofu over the lettuce.
• 14 serve with steamed rice on the side.
• 15 makes 4 entree servings.
• 16 notes: soft tofu is a little trickier to handle but gives a better finished texture.
• 17 firm tofu will stay quite hard; do not use extrafirm tofu.
• 18 lemon grass is available in the produce section of asian markets and some supermarkets.
• 19 sambal oelek paste is available at asian markets or in the asian section of supermarkets.