Hakka Style Tofu

Romy Gill

The Hakka community, like many other communities, are an integral part of the cultural tapestry of Kolkata. Renowned for its unique, bold flavours; Hakka cuisine has made it mark in Kolkata and many other parts of India with restaurants and eateries offering Hakka-style, Manchurian noodles and other dishes that reflect the fusion of Chinese and Indian culinary influences. I have created this favourite dish from my teenage years; when we had saved up enough money, we would buy this spicy tofu served with fried rice from the street-food stalls. This dish marries the subtle richness of tofu with the warmth flavours of spices. Recipe adapted from 'Romy Gill's India: Recipes From Home'. Tap on Romy's chef profile on the app, for a link to purchase this beautiful book.

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Ingredients

firm tofu 300 g (diced)
chilli powder 1 tsp
cornflour 2 ½ tsp
ground cumin 2 tsp
garlic cloves 4 (chopped)
ginger 25 g (chopped)
spring onions 6 (chopped)
red onion 1 ½ (chopped)
mixed chillies 1 (chopped)
black pepper 1 tsp
soy sauce 8 tsp
brown sugar 1 tsp
ketchup 2 tsp
basmati rice 240 g

Method

Prep the marinade

Dice the tofu into small cubes, around 3cm approximately.
In a bowl combine the chilli powder, ½ tsp of the cornflour, ½ tsp salt and theground cumin. Mix well. Add the tofu, toss to cover the tofu and set aside.

Make the sauce

Peel and chop the garlic and ginger. Finely chop the spring onions, including the green parts. Peel and finely chop the red onion. Chop the chilli.
Mix 2 tsp of cornflour with 100ml cold water to make a paste (this will thicken your sauce).
Heat a glug of olive oil in a saucepan over a high heat, add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
Add the spring onions, red onions and chillies and cook for 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
Add the black pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup and cook for 1 minute. Add the cornflour paste and cook for 4 minutes. Use a whisk to stir to ensure a smooth sauce.

Cook the tofu

Heat a glug of oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the marinated tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes, browning it on each side.
Add the tofu to the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Cook the rice and plate up

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions.
Plate up- serve the tofu with the rice and enjoy. You can also have this with noodles instead of rice.

Hakka Style Tofu

Add to your supermarket basket....

Ingredients

Method

Prep the marinade

Make the sauce

Cook the tofu

Cook the rice and plate up

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