Sweet And Sour Tofu Balls

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Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 12th of January 2022

Why go out to eat when you can make it at home for a fraction of the price?  Going out for a Chinese was a treat in the past that I would look forward to.  Sweet and sour chicken balls were one of my favourites, so I decided to make a vegan option to this classic take-a-way dish.  I have already done a lot of reading and experimenting with batter, so this was always going to be easy.  If you deicide to try this, you will find it both easy and rewarding.  Enjoy! 

Notes before starting

  • I use metric cups and spoons in this recipe
  • Tablespoons (tbsp) of flour are not necessarily level, but they are not heaped either. 

Serves 1

Time 44 minutes

Preparation 40 minutes (30 mins of this is waiting for the batter to rest)

Cooking 4 minutes 

Ingredients

  • Tofu 100g
  • Rapeseed oil x 1 cup

Marinade ingredients 

  • Cider vinegar x tbsp
  • Soy sauce x 1 tbsp

Dry batter ingredients

  • 3 tbsp of plan flour 
  • Pinch of salt 
  • 1/2 tsp of paprika
  • 1/4 tsp of white pepper

Wet batter ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp of gram flour  
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup of Shloer or sparkling water

Apparatus 

  • Medium, sized saucepan with a lid. 
  • 2 bowls for the batters.
  • A metal slotted spoon. 
  • Measuring spoons.
  • Small whisk or folk to mix the batter.

Method 

Step 1 - Marinade the tofu overnight in the fridge.

  1. Press the tofu and place in a suitable sized bowl or container.  How to prepare tofu.
  2. Allow tofu to soak in the soya sauce and vinegar overnight.

Step 2 - Make the batter.

  1. Make the wet batter first, so it has time to rest.   Mix all the dry ingredients for the wet batter in a suitable sized bowl. 
  2. Add the Shloer to the mix and stir with a folk until it has no lumps. You should have a yellow-coloured batter.
  3. Leave in the fridge to rest for 1/2 hour.
Marinaded tofu.


Tofu after coating in flour and spice.

Step 3 - Get the dry mix ready and heat the oil

  1. Mix all the dry batter ingredients together in a suitable sized bowl. 
  2. Heat the rapeseed oil in a medium, sized saucepan with a lid.
  3. Coat the tofu in the dry mix. 
  4. Coat tofu in the wet batter, so it is completely covered.
  5. Test the oil is hot enough by dripping a tiny bit of batter into the oil.  If it sizzles good, it is hot enough. 
  6. Fry the battered tofu in the oil for about 3 - 4 minutes, or until golden brown all over.  Flip carefully halfway through.
Serve with sweet and sour sauce and something like rice or noodles.

Results 

Follow this recipe and you will end up with a really light and crispy delight.  The batter really makes this dish, so it is worth spending the time on it to get it right.  I loved this dinner and I hope you do too. 




I hope you decide to give this a try. If you do, please let me know what you thought in the comments or on Twitter.  Please like, share with your friends and subscribe.   

Location: United Kingdom

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