Frying It

If you love that crispy, crunchy fried tofu that most restaurants finesse nowadays, there's no excuse for settling with the sludgy, watery mess that an un-fried tofu stir-fry can become. Here's a technique you can use for almost any recipe that calls for fried tofu, from kung pao tofu, to mock fried chicken.

Fried Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu
1 phonebook
1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1-2 cups canola oil

1. Remove the brick of tofu from packaging, being careful not to let it crumble (always use extra firm). Set it on a cutting board draped with paper towels and place another layer of towels on top of the tofu. Then squarely place a phone book, or an object of equal weight and shape, on top of the tofu. Let sit for about 10 minutes and flip the tofu over. This will drain all that gooey water that prevents the tofu from soaking up the flavors you want it to.

2. In a deep dish or flat-bottomed bowl, break the egg and scramble thoroughly. Set aside. Combine the flours on a large plate and season (Salt and pepper may do the trick for some recipes, for others add a touch of cayenne pepper or curry powder). Slice your drained tofu into the desired size pieces for the particular recipe. Then, place a couple pieces at a time in the egg, roll them around until thoroughly covered, and repeat with flour mixture. Pat off excess flour.

3. Heat the oil in a large wok on high. After about 5 minutes the oil will be hot enough to begin frying. Place one round of pieces in the wok and flip after a couple minutes or once the first side seems to brown slightly. Remove when both sides seem to be firm and crunchy, and let sit on paper towels to remove excess oil.