Chilli-Fried Tofu

Ingredients for  4  Servings

• 2 tbsp

  Vegetable oil, plus extra for shallow frying
• 500g

  Firm tofu, drained, patted dry with kitchen paper, cut into 1.5cm cubes
• 4 tbsp

  Cornflour
• 2 tbsp

  Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
• 75g

  Cashew nuts
• For the Sauce

• 150ml

  Rice wine vinegar
• 150g

  Caster sugar
• 4 tbsp

  Soy sauce
• 2

  Red chillies, finely diced
• 2 tsp

  Dried chilli flakes
• 10cm

  Piece of fresh root ginger, peeled, finely grated
• 2

  Carrots, peeled, julienned
• For the Rice

• 2 tbsp

  Groundnut oil
• 2

  Large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp

  Sesame oil
• 200g

  Freshly cooked basmati rice, cooled
• -

  Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4

  Spring onions, finely sliced
• 3 tbsp

  Chopped fresh coriander leaves

Approximate Times

• Preparation :

  Less than 30 minutes
• Cooking :

  30 minutes to 1 hour

Method

1. For the chilli sauce, heat the vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in a non-reactive frying pan until the mixture comes to the boil. Add the chillies, chilli flakes and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until the volume of the liquid had reduced.
2. Add the fried tofu, fried cashew nuts and carrots to the pan, stir well and cook for 2 minutes, or until the carrots have softened.
3. To make the egg-fried rice, beat together the eggs and sesame oil in a bowl and add to the wok. Allow to set a little and move around the pan to scramble. Remove from the pan, add a little more oil and stir-fry the rice for 3 minutes, or until the rice is completely warmed through. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper then stir through the egg, spring onions and coriander.
4. To serve, spoon the egg-fried rice onto four serving plates and top with a spoonful of chilli-fried tofu.