Tahu Goreng Bumbu Bali - Balinese Sauce Fried Tofu

5.0 from 13 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: Main Dish

Cuisines: Indonesian

Ingredients: Tofu

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Fried tofu
• 1 block/450 gram/1 lb firm or extra-firm tofu
• salt
• pepper
• all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon oil
• Spice paste
• 100 gram shallots (Indonesian: bawang merah)
• 2 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)
• 8 red cayenne chili peppers (Indonesian: cabe merah keriting)
• 1 inch ginger (Indonesian: jahe)
• 1 inch galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
• 5 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri), or macadamia
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (Indonesian: terasi), toasted
• Other ingredients
• 3 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon tamarind liquid (1 teaspoon tamarind + 1 tablespoon water)
• 1 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised and knotted
• 2 Indonesian bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam), optional
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoon coconut palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
• 2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis)

Instructions

1. Drain tofu: Drain tofu, wrap it with paper kitchen towel, and sandwich between two plates. Place a heavy object on top of the plate, such as a cast-iron skillet, to press the tofu.
2. After 30 minutes, there should be noticeably plenty of liquid pool around the tofu. Drain the liquid, unwrap the tofu, and cut into 12 pieces.
3. Fry tofu: Heat a non-stick pan or a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add three tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat the pan/skillet.
4. Sprinkle tofu pieces with salt and pepper, coat with all-purpose flour, and fry in hot oil until golden brown.
5. Prepare spice paste: Use a food processor or a spice attachment for a blender to puree shallots, garlic, red chilies, ginger, galangal, candlenuts, and toasted shrimp paste into a smooth spice paste.
6. Cook the tofu dish: Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat and sauté spice paste until fragrant, about 4 minutes.
7. Add tamarind liquid, lemongrass, Indonesian bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, salt, and coconut palm sugar. Mix well.
8. Add fried tofu pieces. Stir and continue cooking until the sauce is thick. Stir in sweet soy sauce and cook for another minute.
9. Serve: Turn off the heat, discard lemongrass, daun salam, and kaffir lime leaves. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with steamed white rice.