ramyaramesh3007This Indonesian inspired sweet and soy fried tofu stir fry is delicious and protein packed, yet simple to make – it also only takes 30 minutes to make!
The first time I had tofu kecap was at a roadside Indian casual restaurant on my drive to Johor Bahru. I didn’t expect to be welcome at a place that I just stumbled upon, let alone try vegan dishes. However, they had an ENTIRE section filled with comforting Indian-style vegetables with hot basmati rice. To my surprise, there were also a tofu dish drenched in kecap manis sauce – a sweet soy sauce commonly used in Indonesian cuisine.
You can also use tempeh in place of tofu or even use a mix! I fried the tofu in some corn starch for it to be extra crispy and flavourful. You can follow the same steps for frying the tempeh.
What You Need
- extra firm tofu – I coated my tofu squares in corn starch and pan fried it until crispy. Never goes wrong! You can also bake them or air fry them until crispy.
- lemongrass – to make the dish more fragrant
- ginger – for that earthy, spicy flavour
- kecap manis – an Indonesian sweet soy sauce that’s used in many dishes. It’s the main ingredient for the sauce we’re making!
- dark soy sauce – for that colour
- garnish – spring onions and red chilies
Tofu Kecap Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 300-350 g extra firm tofu
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 2 stalks lemongrass the purple part
- 2 tbsp kecap manis
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sambal chili
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Slice tofu into squares or small cubes and coat them all in corn starch.
- Pan fry them in minimal olive oil, or air fry them until crispy.
- To that same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, ginger paste and lemongrass paste. Saute until fragrant.
- Add kecap manis, soy sauce, and sambal. Mix well and add water.
- Let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add some black pepper and give that a good mix.
- Add tofu back in, give it a good mix. Serve with chopped spring onions and red chilies!