Trinidad Hong Kong Style Tofu
This recipe uses air fried tofu and incorporates the same flavours in the welL-known Trinidad Hong Kong style Pepper Chicken. It’s a nice vegetarian dish which you can have on the days when you are not feeling for meat.
In Trinidad, we fast from meat numerous times during the year, so I have tried to develop vegetarian recipes which will keep our taste buds satisfied. Growing up, when were were fasting, my mom would make all the normal dhal, rice and choka dishes during this time. As an adult, with my own family, I like to change things up a bit, and is always seeking new vegetarian additions to my menu. This being one of them. I was inspired to make this dish from Reshmi, a well known youtuber with the famous you tube channel Taste of Trini who has some really good Honk Kong style recipes. Although I do not like tofu, I can eat it when it is fried and has enough flavour components to satisfy my palate. Fried tofu, however, absorbs alot of oil, so I decided to use my air fryer to eliminate that factor. By the way, you can fry it in oil if you do not have an air fryer.
I first had Hong Kong Style Chinese chicken at a Chinese restaurant in Che Kong Chinese Restaurant in Couva. The flavours were sooo good and HOT! It basically involved sauteing Chinese style fried chicken in a hot wok with sweet/bell peppers, onions, hot peppers and Chinese seasoning salts. So with this recipe, I seasoned my tofu with some Chinese flavourings and fried it in the air fryer until crispy. Then I sauteed the vegetables on high heat in my wok before adding the tofu and finishing up wit some sesame oil. This goes great with any Asian dish like fried rice, chow mein etc.
Ingredients
For the tofu:
1 pound of tofu
2 tablespoons light soy sauce- Do not use all dark soy sauce because it will get too dark.
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
For the Hong Kong Style Tofu:
2 medium sized sweet/bell peppers- cut into julienne strips.
1 medium onion - about 1 cup cut into radial strips.
1/2 of a hot pepper- cut into slices. You can use more if you want it spicier.
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil- or any other oil for stir frying.
1 tablespoon chopped bhandania/chadon beni/culantro
1 tablespoon sliced Trinidad chives of green onions or scallions
1 1/2 teaspoon Five Spice Seasoning or powder
2 teaspoon Chinese seasoning
Salt to taste
Have all veges prepped for the stir fry because once you start stir frying, it goes along very fast!
Method
Prepare the Tofu:
Cut the tofu in bite-sized pieced and season the tofu with all ingredients. Let marinate for about 30 minutes. About 5 minutes before adding your tofu to airfry, preheat your air fryer to 175degC. Spray your air fryer basket with oil and add the tofu. Air fry for 30 minutes, stopping every 10 minutes to shake or turn the tofu pieces each time.
Make your Hong Kong Style Stir Fry
Heat you wok on high heat, add the peanut oil. Add the onions and hot pepper and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the sweet pepper and chinese seasoning, and continue stir frying for 2 minutes. Add the fried tofu and the 5 spice and continue tossing. At this point you can add the sesame oil, stir and remove from heat. Add the bhandania and the chives, taste for salt and add more if needed.
