Pan-Fried Tofu with Dark Sweet Soy Sauce

Meh. It wasn't bad, but it was also not my favorite tofu dish. The sauce could have used being thinned out a bit in order to be stretched to fit the amount of tofu I had. I also always forget how messy pan-frying is, so I think I prefer browning my tofu under the broiler. And I totally forgot to add the scallion-serrano garnish, so I have no idea if it would have added to the dish. I know it would have added to the heat (of which it already had plenty) since I'm pretty sure my right eye is burning a bit because I accidentally touched it after chopping the serrano pepper. Oof.

Pan-Fried Tofu with Dark Sweet Soy Sauce
Courtesy of seriouseats.com



2 tablespoons Chinese dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (chili garlic hot sauce)
One 14-ounce block firm tofu
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 serrano, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
1 scallion, chopped

Mix together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and sambal oelek in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Cut the tofu into ½-inch thick slices, which are approximately 3-inches long. Dry the tofu pieces on paper towels.

Place a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. When smoking, add just enough of the canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add as many of the tofu slices as will fit in one layer. Cook until tofu is browned on the bottom, two to three minutes. Flip the pieces with a pair of tongs, and brown on the other side, about two minutes. When done, drain the tofu pieces on paper towels. Repeat process with remaining tofu pieces, adding more oil if necessary.

Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of the canola oil, and turn the heat down to medium. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Pour in the soy sauce mixture, and cook until it thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.

Divide the tofu between two plates, and pour half of the sauce over each. Garnish with the chopped serrano and scallion.