Fried Tofu with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Would you look at that? My mouth is already drooling. Crunchy on the outside, silky smooth on the inside. Dipped in some power sauce. Oh, la la. Like a bite of happiness. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it's one of my favorite recipes that I'm quite proud of. I can’t claim this as a "healthy" dish, but it can be if you bake it. Although… It’s better fried in my humble opinion. I highly suggest doubling up the recipe. The hubby and I devoured it in less than 10 minutes. It was heavy and filling, but damn I could've finished the whole thing by myself.

For Sesame Dipping Sauce:

2T Soy Sauce

1T Mirin

1t Ginger, minced

1t Garlic, minced

1t Brown Sugar

1t Sesame Oil

1T Scallions, sliced

1t Sesame Seeds

Whisk everything together until the brown sugar dissolves.

16oz Extra Firm Tofu, sliced into 8 pieces of rectangle

2T Flour

2T Cornstarch

1t Salt

1t Pepper

2ea Eggs

1C Panko Bread Crumbs

Vegetable Oil

1t Sesame Seeds

1T Scallions, sliced

Drain the tofu from it’s liquid. Slice the tofu and lay a couple of paper towels at the bottom of the tofu and on top to fully absorb excess liquid. Place a plate on top to add a little weight to press the tofu. Dry the tofu for about 15 minutes to overnight in the fridge depending on how dry you want the tofu. Make a 3 step dredging method. For the first bowl - mix flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. The second bowl - whisk eggs until smooth. And the third bowl - panko bread crumbs. Dredge the tofu in the first bowl until everything is coated, tapping off the excess flour mixture. Then dip the tofu in the second bowl in the egg mixture, coating the tofu and let the excess eggs drip off. Finally, dip the tofu in the panko bread crumbs, pressing in it a little bit to make sure every surface is coated. In a pan, use vegetable oil just about enough to cover 1/4 inch up the tofu. Fry all sides of the tofu until golden brown. Place on a paper towel right after frying to remove excess oil. Serve with sesame dipping sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.