Sweet and Sour Tofu is a better take to the usual sweet and sour dishes because it involves the use of fried tofu as a meat substitute. Did you know that tofu is a good source of protein and is low in fat and cholesterol? These are just few reasons why many people substitute tofu for red meat. I personally recommend this dish to my carnivore friends who are trying to cut down on their meat intake but cannot shift to eating vegetables directly.
This might look complicated to prepare – in reality, it is so quick and easy. There are only 2 things to do here: fry the tofu and make the sweet and sour sauce. Safflower oil has a high smoke point and is low fat. You can use this type of oil in frying the tofu if you really want to minimize your fat intake. As for the sauce, all you need is to combine all the necessary ingredients, cook, and thicken with cornstarch. That’s it.
This recipe can be categorized as vegan because it does not use any animal by product. It can also be considered as vegetarian because it does not contain any meat. I know that some of you are still puzzled on the differences between vegan and vegetarian. I will be explaining that in a separate article.
Did you know that you can make other sweet and sour dishes using the sauce recipe? If you wish to eat sweet and sour fish fillet, for example, all that’s needed is fry the fish fillet (dipped in beaten egg and dredged in flour) and pour over the sauce. You can also do prepared fish fillets and chicken nuggets (these are the ones sold in the grocery). The possibilities are endless.
Sweet and sour meatball is also a favorite recipe here.
Try this Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe and let me know what you think.
Sweet and Sour Tofu
Ingredients
- 16 ounces extra firm tofu sliced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 piece green bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 piece red bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 piece onion sliced
- 1 piece carrot sliced crosswise
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 7 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water
- 3 cups cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a deep cooking pot.
- Deep fry the tofu. When the color turns light to medium brown, remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a pan and then pour in a tablespoon of cooking oil (use remaining oil from fried tofu)
- When the oil becomes hot, put-in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Add the pineapple chunks, onion, green and red bell peppers. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, and ketchup in a bowl. Mix well.
- Pour-in mixture to the pan where the vegetables are cooking. Stir and let boil.
- Pour-in the cornstarch diluted in water. Stir until the sauce thickens.
- Add the deep fried tofu. Stir.
- Transfer to a serving plate.
- Share and enjoy!
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