Deep-Fried Tofu Simmered with Tomatoes
At Lan Tran’s family restaurant, Minh’s Restaurant, beef noodle soup (bun bo hue) and grilled catfish (ca nuong) are specialties on the menu. But at home, Lan prefers simpler fare like this super-easy dish concocted by her mother. It’s basic enough to complicate—you can improvise by adding meat or other vegetables—or keep it simple as-is to serve with most any meat or seafood main dish. Many home cooks like to deep-fry their own tofu, but fried tofu is readily available in Asian markets and less messy.
Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a multicourse family-style meal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Deep-Fried Tofu (see opposite page) or one 12-ounce package fried tofu (try to find a package with eighteen 1- by 2-inch rectangular pieces)
- 1½ pounds (about 4 medium) tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 green onions, green parts only, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the Skillet:
- Coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with the oil.
- Arrange the tofu pieces side-by-side in a single layer in the skillet.
- Wedge the tomatoes in wherever you can around the tofu. If you have to pile the tomatoes on top of the tofu to form a second layer, that’s okay.
2 Mix Sauce and Simmer:
- In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce and sugar together.
- Pour the sauce over the tofu and tomatoes in the skillet.
- Scatter the chopped green onions over the top.
- Cover the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
3 Cooking:
- Cook until the tomatoes soften and their juices are released, 10 to 15 minutes. The skins will also start to peel away from the flesh.
4 Serve:
- Serve hot with freshly steamed rice.
Notes
- This dish can be customized by adding meat or other vegetables to suit your preference.
- Deep-fried tofu is available in Asian markets and can be used to save time and reduce mess in preparation.
