Recipe: Fried Bean Curd in Tomato Sauce

Fried Bean Curd in Tomato Sauce
tua hu sot cha

Fried Bean Curd
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 10 min

This easy recipe consists of firm bean curd, pan-fried until crisp and golden outside, served with a tomato sauce, Sounds simple—and it is—but the flavor is even better than you might expect. The fresh tomato sauce is accented with a perfect balance of fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and salt, another example of the delicacy and sophistication of the Vietnamese palate.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 squares firm bean curd (about 13 oz or 400 g), dried with paper towel
sprigs of fresh coriander, to garnish

Sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 medium ripe tomatoes, skinned and diced (about 7 oz or 200 g)
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
4 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the Sauce first by heating the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and stir-fry over medium heat until golden. Add the tomatoes and stir-fry until slightly softened, about 2 minutes, Add water, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, tomato paste, and pepper. Bring to the boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat but keep warm.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot. Add the bean curd and fry until golden brown underneath, about 3 minutes. Turn and fry the other side, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel and transfer to a serving dish. Pour over the tomato sauce, garnish with coriander sprigs, and serve with steamed rice and other dishes.

Buy the Book!

from:
Green Mangoes and Lemon Grass
Southeast Asia's Best Recipes from Bangkok to Bali
By Wendy Hutton
With a Foreword by Charmaine Solomon
Periplus Editions
$35.00. Hardcover 224 pp
ISBN: 0-7946-0157-X
Recipe reprinted by permission.