Home / Vegetarian / Golden Sweet & Sour Fried Tofu Bowl

Golden Sweet & Sour Fried Tofu Bowl

Purpose
Restaurant-grade tofu recipe served in a sweet and tangy sauce on top of rice
Yield
8 portions
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
45 minutes

Equipment

  • Large Cooking Pot
  • Small cooking pot
  • Cutting board
  • Strainer
  • Chef's knife
  • Wok
  • Spatula
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Ladle

Ingredients

Proteins

  • 1.25 kg extra-firm tofu (frozen, still in packaging)

Produce

  • 1 onion (diced)
  • 2 bell peppers (diced)
  • 1 341 ml can of pineapple tidbits (drained until 2-3 tablespoons of juice remain)

Dairy

  • 3 tablespoons butter

Liquids

  • 3 341 ml jars of VH Sweet & Sour sauce
  • 4 L water (for boiling tofu)
  • 3 cups water (for boiling rice)
  • 3⁄4 cup water (for cornstarch slurry)
  • 1 cup water (for sauce volume)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar

Dry ingredients

  • 3 cups instant rice
  • 3 tablespoons salt (for tofu boiling water)
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt (for rice)
  • 3⁄4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  1. Thaw frozen tofu block in its original packaging (must be started in advance)
  2. Dice onion and bell peppers
  3. Put 4 L of water to boil with 3 tablespoons of salt in a large cooking pot
  4. Cut tofu block into 3 large pieces and gently squeeze them over the sink like a sponge to remove excess water
  5. Cut tofu into 1" cubes and boil them for about 3 minutes; strain and set aside cooking pot
  6. In a large mixing bowl, mix cornstarch with baking soda in 3⁄4 cup of water until it looks like thin cream
  7. Add tofu to the large mixing bowl, toss tofu cubes with slurry mixture until lightly coated
  8. Heat wok to medium-high while letting tofu sit in slurry mix for 3 minutes to allow coating to set
  9. Fry tofu cubes in wok in 3 batches with 2 tablespoons of oil each for 4-6 minutes until most sides are golden; set aside in cooking pot after each batch
  10. Put cooking pot back onto stove on medium heat; add in VH sauce, 1 cup of water, soy sauce, white vinegar and produce to tofu and stir well
  11. Boil 3 cups of water with 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of butter; add rice, stir once to submerge, cover, and remove from heat
  12. Simmer tofu, sauce and produce for 12-15 minutes uncovered to reduce and thicken sauce
  13. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes to soften vegetables
  14. Serve one ladle of tofu with sauce on top of one ladle of rice in a bowl

Notes

Preparation note: Freezing the tofu block inside its original packaging and thawing it before cooking breaks the molecular structure of the tofu, allowing more water to be squeezed out and improving sauce absorption
Cooking note: Don't boil tofu too much so it doesn't split apart

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