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Tahu Lada Hitam - Tofu in Black Pepper Sauce

Name: Tahu Lada Hitam - Tofu in Black Pepper Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 block firm tofu (450 gram/1 lb), cut into bite-size cubes; 1/2 cup water; 3 cloves garlic, grated; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1/2 onion, diced; 3 red Fresno chilies, remove seeds and diced; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis); 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup chicken stock/water; cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 teaspoon water), mixed well; 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Last updated: Aug 12, 2020 — Published: Sep 19, 2016 — By: Anita — 15 comments

Once you give this dish a try, you will see why a black pepper sauce dish is a classic Chinese dish. Now with this recipe, you can prepare this at home at any time.

Tahu lada hitam - tofu in black pepper sauce.

Tofu in black pepper sauce is one of my family’s favorite Chinese restaurant dishes. We used to order a black pepper sauce dish all the time, but now I can prepare this myself with this recipe.

Since my family loves this dish, I make it pretty often. I usually have most of the sauces and seasonings for this dish in my pantry, so I can quickly prepare this dish even with a limited amount of fresh ingredients at home.

Like most dishes in a Chinese restaurant, you can always modify this recipe to work with meat or seafood. Beef in black pepper sauce is another favorite, and you can also try it with chicken, pork, or fish.

Ingredients for tofu in black pepper sauce

1. Pan-fried tofu

If you can find fried tofu cubes in your grocery store, feel free to use that and skip making pan-fried tofu from scratch. Please dowse store-bought fried tofu cubes in plenty of hot water to remove excess oil before using.

To make pan-fried tofu cubes from scratch, we will need firm/extra-firm tofu, water, garlic, and salt.

2. Black pepper sauce

To prepare the black pepper sauce, we will need garlic, onion, red chilies, oyster sauce, kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), chicken stock/water, coconut palm sugar, salt, and cornstarch.

(1) Sauté onion, garlic, and red chilies. (2) Add kecap manis, oyster sauce, coconut palm sugar, salt, and black pepper. (3) Add chicken stock, then thicken the sauce with cornstarch slurry. (4) Add fried tofu pieces and stir to coat.

Step-by-step to cook tofu in black pepper sauce

1. Marinate tofu

Mix water, garlic, and salt in a mixing bowl. Marinate tofu cubes in this solution for 20 minutes.

2. Fry tofu

Heat 3 tablespoon oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, fry tofu cubes until all sides are golden brown. If you prefer to deep fry the tofu, you can do so as well. Set aside.

3. Prepare black pepper sauce

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wok over medium-high high. Sauté garlic, onion, and red chilies until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Season with oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Mix well.

Pour chicken stock and cook until boiling, then add the cornstarch slurry and cook for 1 minute, or until the sauce is thick.

Add fried tofu cubes and toss gently to coat. Turn off the heat, garnish with scallions, and serve immediately with steamed white rice.