脆皮豆腐 (Cui Pi Dou Fu)

Crispy on the outside and creamy and tender on the inside, a piece of well-executed deep-fried tofu is a delightful thing. Stuff that tofu with some shrimp, and you get a dim sum classic. Here’s how to make your own!

Ingredients

1 block soft tofu
¼ lb shrimp
4 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
Vegetable oil

This dish starts with soft tofu, which is just strong enough to hold its shape when fried, but will melt in your mouth when eaten.[1] I’d recommend against making this recipe with medium or firm tofu, as you end up with a very different final texture. Do not use silken tofu for this recipe—it is too delicate and will fall apart when fried. Cut the tofu into blocks about 1 in by 1.5 in by 1.5 in in size. You can usually get 10-12 such pieces out of a standard block of tofu. Gently pat the tofu pieces dry with a paper towel, then set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to air dry. Drying the surface of water will help reduce splatter when the tofu hits the hot oil.

Next, we prepare the filling. Finely mince your shrimp using a knife or cleaver, and put the mince into a mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon cornstarch, salt, sesame oil, and rice wine, and mix until thoroughly combined.

Now onto the stuffing. First place 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into a small bowl, to be used for dredging. Using a small metal spoon, excavate a hole about half a teaspoon in volume (just eyeball it) from the center of each tofu block. This will give our filling a place to sit. Then scoop up about 1½ teaspoons of the shrimp filling and form it into a ball. Dredge this ball in the cornstarch, dusting off the excess. The thin layer of cornstarch will turn sticky when brought into contact with the moisture in the tofu, forming a tight seal between the shrimp and the tofu. Place this ball of filling into each tofu block, pressing slightly so that a good seal forms. Note that the tofu itself does not have to be dredged—when fried tofu will crisp up well on its own.

When all of the tofu pieces are stuffed, we can turn our attention to frying. Tofu is notorious for sticking to pans, so we will need a surface which is both nonstick and safe at high temperatures. This means one of only two surfaces—cast iron or carbon steel. Use a cast iron or carbon steel pan or wok, with high enough sides to safely hold at least 1½ inches of frying oil. If you use a stainless steel pan, or if your cast iron is not well seasoned, the tofu will stick to the bottom of the pan and you will have a bad day.[2] Bring this oil up to a temperature of 375° F, using a thermometer to monitor the temperature.

We will also need a landing pad for the freshly fried tofu blocks, where they can cool off while not reabsorbing oil and becoming greasy and soggy. The best way to do this is to lay some paper towels on a sheet tray, then placing a cooling rack on top. That way, oil can drain from the tofu and be absorbed away from the food. The elevated cooling rack also prevents moisture from building up under the fried tofu.

When the oil is up to temperature, carefully lower the tofu blocks into the hot oil using a metal spatula. Work in small batches, probably no more than 5 blocks at a time. Tofu has a high water content, and will drop the oil temperature more than most foods of a similar size. Fry the tofu for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy and the shrimp is cooked through. The tofu should float to the surface of the oil when it’s close to done, but on occasion you may have to persuade a piece of tofu to release itself from the bottom of the pan via gentle application of the spatula or chopsticks.

Remove the fried tofu pieces to the cooling rack, and let cool for at least 5 minutes before eating—they will be very hot inside! Serve with some sweetened soy sauce for dipping, if desired.

Substitutions

Medium and firm tofu are too tough for this dish. Likewise, do not use silken tofu, which is too fragile to be fried. You can skip the shrimp filling to make a vegetarian version—deep-fried soft tofu on its own is still great without the stuffing.

[1] Standard tofu (like the soft, medium, and hard blocks most commonly seen in grocery stores), are formed of pressed curds of coagulated soymilk. The “hardness” of these blocks is correlated to the density to which the curds are pressed during manufacturing.

[2] If you have a basket-style deep fryer, that will work fine too, but few home kitchens are equipped with one.

Recipe

Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 25 min

Difficulty: 4/5

Heat Sources: 1 burner

Equipment: cast iron pan or wok, thermometer, cooling rack, sheet pan, metal spatula

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 block soft tofu
¼ lb shrimp
4 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Cut the soft tofu into blocks about 1 in by 1.5 in by 1.5 in in size. Gently pat dry with a paper towel, then set aside to air dry.

2. Prepare the filling by finely mincing the shrimp with a cleaver or knife. In a bowl, combine the minced shrimp, 1 tsp cornstarch, salt, sesame oil, and rice wine. Mix together to make the filling.

3. With a small metal spoon, excavate a hole about ½ tsp in volume in the center of each tofu block.

4. Place the remaining 1 tbsp of cornstarch in a small bowl. Form about 1½ tsp of shrimp filling into a ball, then dredge the ball in the cornstarch. Then place one filling ball in each tofu block, pressing gently so that the filling seals to the tofu.

5. In a cast iron pan or wok, bring at least 1½ inches of oil to 375° F. When the oil is up to temperature, use a metal spatula to carefully lower the tofu blocks into the hot oil. Working in small batches, fry the tofu for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and the shrimp is cooked.

6. Remove the fried tofu to the cooling rack, and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Serve with some sweetened soy sauce for dipping, if desired.