KONG PAO STYLE FRIED TAUFU

'Kong Pao' sauce is a fragrant sauce that goes well with various fried foods like prawns, fish and chicken to name a few.  There are also various recipes for 'Kong Pao' sauce in Szechuan cuisine but I find this one the simplest though, I think it may not be authentic.  Nevertheless, if you are looking for a spicy, savoury, sourish and sweet sauce for any stir fry fried food, this one is easy yet delicious.

I have tried it with fried prawns, chicken and fish fillets but this time, I am using the sauce for fried taufu pieces.  This makes the bland taufu pieces just as appetising.

Ingredients For Kong Pao Sauce

5-6 dried chillies [more if you can stand the spiciness] - soaked, rinsed and cut into sections

8 slices of ginger

3 pips garlic - sliced

1 large onion - cut wedges or thick slices

1 stalk spring onions - cut sections

1 small tomato - cut wedges [optional]

Seasoning [combined]

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce

1 tsp black vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water [mix for thickening]

Other Ingredient

2 blocks of taufu - cut into square slices

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan over high heat, fry taufu slices in batches until golden brown.  Dish up.
2. Remove excess oil.  Using the same pan, saute dried chillies, ginger and garlic until fragrant.  Add in onions and tomatoes.  Stir to mix well.
3. Pour in the seasoning ingredients and fried taufu slices.  Mix lightly and bring to boil.  Thickened with cornstarch water.  Lastly, throw in the spring onions.
4. Mix and dish up to serve.