Fall
TURMERIC DRY TOFU CURRY
- Prep time 30 hours
- Cook time 30 hours
- Serves 4
Author Notes
This is such a flavoursome, fresh zingy dish. I love these flavours, especially in the winter months, I love to have to have that brightness in the food I'm eating.
If you have an Asian grocery store near you’ll be able to get all of these ingredients, but major supermarkets are also selling lime leaves and Thai basil now, so you should be able to source everything without too much trouble. If you can't find fresh kaffir lime leaves I’d opt for frozen over dried. Just make sure you keep them frozen and defrost only what you need.
The fragrant rice goes so well with this, but I think it would work really well with rice noodles too. I love using red rice, it’s got a delicious nutty flavour and looks great, but it’s also a whole grain, high in fibre and antioxidants, amongst other benefits.
This dish comes together fairly easily and is definitely worth a try. You make the spice paste in advance to save time when you’re ready to eat too. —Kali
Ingredients
- For the paste
-
180 grams
whole shallot (150g peeled)
-
dutch red chilli - deseed for less heat
-
25 grams
peeled garlic (4 cloves)
-
30 grams
turmeric, fresh - washed (I don’t peel)
-
4
lemongrass, woody ends triimmed, and outer layer removed, and sliced
-
5
kaffir lime, destemed
-
1.5 teaspoons
1.5 tsp white pepper
-
35 grams
oil - I used rapeseed
-
.5 teaspoons
salt
- For the curry
-
300 grams
red rice
-
600 grams
water
-
.5 teaspoons
salt
-
3
kaffir lime, whole
-
1
lemongrass, bruised- - lightly crushing the end, using the back of the knife or a rolling pin
-
1 tablespoon
coconut oil
-
rapeseed or coconut oil
-
1
portion curry paste
-
1 tablespoon
coconut sugar
-
600 grams
firm tofu
-
50 grams
cornflour
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1.5 teaspoons
turmeric
-
.5 teaspoons
white pepper
-
300 grams
sprouting broccoli, cut into ½ cm pieces
-
4
kaffir lime leaves, destemmed and finely sliced
-
20 grams
juice lime (1/2 - 1 lime)
-
40 grams
coriander
-
20 grams
thai basil
Directions
- For the fragrant rice. Rinse the rice well with fresh water. Place in a medium pan with a lid, along with the lemongrass, kaffir lime, coconut oil salt and water. Cover, bring to the boil, turn down, and steam for 30 minutes. Once it’s ready, turn off the heat and leave the lid on for a further 10 minutes.
- Prepare and blend spice paste ingredients, in a blender blend until smooth.
- In a wide-based pan, on medium heat, heat the pan, add 30g or (3 tablespoons) of the oil to the pan, then add the curry paste, cook for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to stop it sticking and so it cooks evenly. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes until darkened. Remove the paste from the pan, clean the pan and prepare the tofu.
- Cut the tofu into inch pieces cubes. Mix the corn flour, turmeric, white pepper and salt medium bowl. Heat the pan on medium heat, and add the remaining oil. Shake the tofu in the mixing bowl to coat in the cornflour turmeric mix. When the pan is hot, using tongs shake off any excessive flour and cook the tofu pieces, turning to crispen all sides of the tofu. You may need to do this in batches if your pan isn’t big enough to fit them without overcrowding. When they’re ready, remove and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to drain excess oil.
- Add the broccoli to the pan, with a splash of water, cook for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Add the paste back in, with a splash of water to loosen if needed then add the tofu and kaffir lime, mix well and heat through. Finish with the fresh lime, coriander and Thai basil, if using.
- Serve with your fragrant rice.
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