In general, tofu is soybean milk and water cooked with a salt-based or acidic coagulant. Once they are cooked together, the whey and the curds begin to separate. Tofu is made when the curds are pressed. There are many different types of tofu to choose from and you can find many varieties in your local grocery or Asian market, or even fresh from a local tofu maker. You can learn more about tofu in my previous post here. For frying, you want to buy EXTRA firm, non-silken tofu because it keeps its shape well during frying. After opening your tofu, you will need to press the tofu to remove excess water. This is a pretty important step because too much water can prevent your tofu from achieving optimal crispiness. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch thick sheets and place them in between two cutting boards and a few sheets of paper towels or dish towels. You want to place a few cans of soup on the top of the cutting board for more pressure. Press for about 15-20 minutes. After pressing, cut the pieces of tofu into one inch bite sized pieces. Crispy fried tofu can be made by frying the tofu directly into neutral cooking oil without batter like we do for my dau sot ca recipe, but here I prefer using a wet batter to make your tofu extra thick and crispy. Using cornstarch also produces a lighter and crispier crust. Like anything you deep fry, you want to use an oil with a high smoke point and a neutral flavor, like vegetable oil. In a heavy-bottomed pot (like a cast iron), heat one and a half inches of oil to 350 °F. Take the battered tofu pieces and slowly lower each piece into the oil. The tofu will cook fairly quickly, about three to four minutes per batch. Once the tofu has achieves a slight golden color (very faint), remove them from the oil and place on towels to drain the excess oil. Don’t forget to taste test! The tofu should have a nice crunchy bite, lightly seasoned with the batter, and tender on the inside. Crispy fried tofu is best served right away with a soy sauce-based dip. In this sauce, I cooked down soy sauce, sugar, water, and cornstarch for thickener. The lighter flavored crispy fried tofu pairs really well with the syrupy sweet and salty dip. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, you can also dip these crispy little morsels in a different type of brown sugar, soy glaze.
