Tempura tofu and spring onions with spicy sauce

Prep Cook Serves Cost 10 min 20 min 2

About £4 a head

For the sauce 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

40g gochujang 50g dark soy sauce 150g maple syrup 50g cider vinegar

For the batter

75g plain flour

75g cornflour

¼ tsp table salt 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 medium eggs 150ml vodka

For frying

1 x 280g block firm tofu

1 bunch spring onions, plus 1 spring onion extra, trimmed and thinly sliced, to garnish

600ml vegetable oil

To serve

2 mild red chillies, stalks and seeds discarded, flesh finely sliced

Plain white rice or noodles

I’m quite happy to have this as a meal on its own, but if you’d prefer some extra carbs, it goes well with white rice, noodles and even chips.

To make the sauce, put the garlic, gochujang, soy sauce, maple syrup and vinegar in a saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, on a lowmedium heat for about eight minutes – the sauce will bubble up, reduce, then thicken. Leave to cool.

Cut the tofu into rectangular chunks roughly 1cm thick and 2cm tall and wide. Top and tail the spring onions, then chop in half widthways to give batons roughly 12cm long.

Put the oil in a large, heavybottomed saucepan on a medium heat until it reaches 180C on a kitchen thermometer.

Meanwhile, start the batter. Sift the flours, salt and bicarb into a large bowl, and whisk the eggs and vodka in a second bowl. Pour the eggs into the flour mix, and use a fork to mix them in quickly, until just combined.

Drench a few chunks of tofu in the batter, shake off any excess, then carefully lower into the hot oil. Use a fork to separate any tofu pieces that stick together, and use tongs to give them an occasional turn so they cook evenly. After about three minutes, when the tofu is well browned all over, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a wire rack or plate lined with kitchen paper, then repeat first with the remaining tofu and then finally with the onions, dipping them in batter, too – the latter will cook much more quickly, so give them about a minute on each side. When you’re frying the last batch of onions, gently reheat the sauce.

Arrange the fried tofu and onions on a large platter, pour over the sauce, sprinkle on the sliced chillies and reserved sliced spring onion, and serve with rice or noodles.