Sweet and sour dishes are common. But sweet chili fish and tofu? Nothing irritatingly sweet, don’t worry. It all starts with the basic sweet and sour sauce but there’s less vinegar and more sugar.
Why not just fish? Why add tofu? Well, you can interpret the inclusion of tofu in three ways: as an extender, as a way to turn a dish into something closer to the no-meat category or simply to add variety in texture. Me? I just love tofu.
Ingredients
- 500 grams fish fillet - (cream dory or tilapia are recommended)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 300 grams firm tofu
- 2 to 3 cups cooking oil - for deep frying
- 1/2 cup flour - plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 3 cloves garlic - finely sliced
- half a thumb-sized piece of ginger - cut into matchsticks
- 1 onion - finely sliced
- 1 bell pepper - cored, seeded and cut into fine slivers
- 2 finger chilis - trimmed and cut into fine slivers
- 1 cup sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Cut the fish fillets into bite-size pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the tofu into 2-inch squares.
- Heat the cooking oil to smoking point and fry the tofu until golden golden (see tips for frying tofu). Drain well.
- Dredge the fish in the flour and cornstarch mixture and fry in batches in the hot oil. Drain well.
- Take 2 tbsps. of the hot oil and pour into another frying pan or wok. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion, bell pepper and finger chilis. Cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds.
- Place the fried fish and tofu on a platter. Arrange the sautéed vegetables on top. Pour in the sweet chili sauce. Drizzle with sesame seed oil and garnish with onion leaves and cilantro.
- Serve the sweet chili fish and tofu at once.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
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