Crispy Tofu with Orange Sauce

Good with orange, lemon, teriyaki sauces!

First of all if you're reading this hello!

Welcome back me. It's been a while. I've been trying to do some work on images and setting up a new layout for my blog. It hasn't all transpired yet so I will just take some time to write a few things and post them as I go!

Anyways, as the new year came in I, like anyone else is more concerned about my waistline. Who isn't around new year? Well, as I wash away all of the holiday pounds, I also want to be more concious of how much meat I eat. Generally over the past two years I only eat meat 1-2 a week and on the weekend I usually do a big roast dinner. I'm not planning on cutting back that much, but I'm planning on being a bit more cncious of what I'm eating. I don't want to be a vegetarian but it makes me wonder sometimes at what point we became so dependant on beasts. Meat. Beef. Chicken. Pork. Whatever it is...we're dependant on it as a main staple of our meals. I think about the early people that roamed the earth and wonder what it was like to live off the land and eat meat when it was just a treat....

Ah, what at hought. Anyway's, this is some crispy tofu. I have never really liked tofu only dishes. I've always seen that really crispy tofu and wondered, “How the heck do they get it so crispy?” I never really tried to find out but I had some tofu laying around and a few ingredients and decided to whip something up. Of course this recipe is simply really just for the crispy tofu. You can change anything in the recipe to suit your own tastes, anything that you might want to replce chicken with tofu. Lemon tofu? Sesame tofu? Teriyaki tofu? The list goes on and on. Of course those were just asian suggestions bc it goes so well with those flavours!

Ok get on this folks. This is a simple recipe just for one person, as I didn't make a whole meal from it but use the method to suit your needs.

Ingredients:
300g firm tofu
125ml orange juice
zest of one orange
2 tsp. Brown sugar
2 tbsp. Soy sauce
1 tsp. Rice vinegar
½ tsp. Sesame oil
1 tbsp. Corn flour
oil for frying

To Start:
First we want to drain the tofu by placing it in between two plates and weight it down for about 30 minutes.
Keep replacing the kitchen roll to remove excess moisture.

Next:
While the tofu is draining, bring the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil up to a gentle boil in a suacepan.
Check and stir constantly to prevent burning.
Leave to simmer until it's a thick syrupy sauce.

To Finish:
Cut the tofu in big cubes and dredge in cornflour.
Heat up the oil and fry fry fry. Make sure not to touch until it moves away from the pan with ease otherwise it will make a mess.
When crispy, pour in the sauce and toss to perfection.
Garnish with spring onions and serve with rice.