-
Prep time
5 minutes
-
Cook time
15 minutes
-
Serves
2-3
Author Notes
I’ve been obsessed with Mandy Lee’s Mapo Tofu “Hummus” recipe in her book The Art of Escapism Cooking ever since I read it. It’s a recipe that takes firm tofu — a typically bland soy product that Mandy herself described as “the least popular end of the (textural) spectrum of tofu” — and blends it up into a lusciously silky puree, transforming its texture into a hummus-like dip ready to take on any and all punchy, spiced flavors. Such a genius technique!
While Mandy made her “tofummus” with a fiery, tongue-numbing Sichuanese mapo sauce, I took mine in a different direction. After all, growing up in Malaysia, I rarely had mapo tofu, and never had a finger-swipe of hummus until I was in my 20s. Instead, with Malaysia’s big Indian population, the dip I’ve always known and love are curries and dals!
So I took Mandy’s technique, and infused it with the flavors of a basic curry. I fried up onions and garlic, then added curry powder, cumin, and turmeric to bloom, and let everything saute until my kitchen smelled deliriously fragrant.
Then, in it went with the tofu to blend in a food processor, turning it into a silky smooth, vibrantly yellow puree. I scooped this out into a bowl, topped it with lemon juice, chopped parsley, and a few cracks of black pepper, and I got a savory, curry-spiced tofu dip to swipe flatbreads and rotis through.
It’s half-hummus, half-Indian dahl, but is fully, proudly tasty, and it made me love tofu in a whole different light! —Jun
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons
canola oil, or another neutral oil
-
½
yellow onion, thinly sliced
-
3
garlic cloves, roughly chopped
-
½ teaspoons
(3g) kosher salt
-
½ teaspoons
(1g) curry powder
-
½ teaspoons
(1g) cumin powder
-
¼ teaspoons
(0.5g) turmeric powder
-
1 pound
(450g) firm tofu
-
¼
lemon, juiced (about 1 tbsp lemon juice)
-
¼ cups
(10g) parsley leaves, roughly chopped
-
freshly cracked black pepper
Directions
-
Heat the canola oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat, and add the sliced onions and garlic to it. Saute for about 5 minutes until the onions are limp, then add the salt, curry powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder to it. Continue sauteing for another 3 minutes, until the spices are fully bloomed and fragrant, then take it off the heat.
-
Ready a medium pot of boiling water. Slice the firm tofu into large chunks (“the size of large marshmallows,” as Mandy puts it), then boil the tofu in the water for 5 minutes. and put the tofu in it to boil for 5 minutes.
-
Strain out the tofu, and transfer it into a food processor. Pulse 3-4 times until chopped up (but still chunky), then add in the aromatics that were sauteed in step 1. Blend for 30-45 seconds, until you get a smooth puree.
-
Serve the whipped tofu in a small bowl or deep plate, then top with lemon juice, chopped parsley, and freshly cracked black pepper (plus a sprinkling of flaky salt if you wish). Dip your flatbreads and rotis in it, and enjoy!
See what other Food52ers are saying.