Ingredients

• 7 fluid ounces/ 200 ml vegetable oil
• 1 pound, 2 ounces/ 500 g silken tofu, drained and cut into 1 1/4-inch/3 cm cubes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon minced red Asian shallots
• 1 bird's eye chile, finely sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 spring onions (scallions), cut into 2-inch/ 5 cm lengths
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 fresh coriander (cilantro) sprigs, for serving

Instructions

1. Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
2. Add the tofu, cooking it in 2 batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen paper-lined tray to drain.
3. Carefully, transfer the deep-frying oil into a deep bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon oil in the wok.
4. Now add the garlic, Asian shallots, and chile to the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
5. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and fish sauce, stir and allow the tomatoes to break down.
6. Add 3 1/2 fluid ounces/ 100 ml water to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the crisp tofu, spring onions, and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as we want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.
8. Garnish with coriander (cilantro).