I love love love tofu. Frying it crispy before adding it to dishes is a favorite way to cook it. This is a quick, simple dish to make and the fresh tomatoes and herbs make the sweet and sour sauce mouth watering. I ate this for lunch over freshly picked lettuce and herb salad, but I had to eat it quickly before the greens melted under the hot tofu. If you don’t like mushy lettuce, have this dish over rice.

Ingredients
serves 2 as a main
enough olive oil for shallow frying
1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
3 cloves minced garlic
1 minced shallot
1 red chili, (deseeded or not, your choice) finely sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ tsp sea salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp good quality soy sauce
splash rice vinegar
3 spring onions or handful of chives, chopped roughly
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
fresh coriander/cilantro

1) Fill a wok with enough olive oil to shallow fry the tofu cubes. Fry on a high heat and turn them once they are a golden brown, until all sides are browned and crispy. Drain on paper towel. Set aside.
2) Empty most of the oil from the wok but leave about 2-3 tbs for making the sauce. Heat to medium and gently fry the garlic, shallot and chili. For spiciness, leave the seeds in the chili.
3) Once the garlic/shallot/chili mixture is softening, add in the fresh chopped tomatoes, the sea salt, black pepper, sugar, soy sauce and splash vinegar. Cook on med low for about ten minutes until the tomatoes have completely cooked down.
4) Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if need be. Now add in the crispy tofu and the green onions and cook on low for a few minutes to let the tofu absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Serve plain or with rice and fresh coriander/cilantro