Grilled Crisp Tofu Pockets are commonly known as Tahu Bakar. It is an Indonesian/Malaysian snack that is both appetising and brightly flavoured.

Packed with light, tasty and flavourful ingredients, this light snack makes for a great appetiser or even a tea-time snack when the urge to nibble mid-afternoon becomes too overwhelming to be ignored.

This recipe of Tahu Bakar is taken from the cookbook “Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home” by Andrea Nguyen.

Ingredients:

Rojak sauce

• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp paste or 2 teaspoons pre-roasted dried shrimp paste
• 3 tablespoons packed dark palm sugar or dark brown sugar
• 1 or 2 moderately hot red chillies, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tamarind liquid
• 3 tablespoons Indonesian sweet soy sauce

Grilled tahu

• 600 g firm tofu
• 115 g bean sprouts
• 5 cups water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• canola oil for deep-frying
• 1 large Kirby or Persian cucumber, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and cut on the diagonal into thin strips, about 5cm long
• 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

Method

• To make the sauce, if using unroasted dried shrimp paste, wrap it up in a 7 cm-square piece of aluminium foil like an envelope. Flatten the packet with the heel of your hand.
• Roast the packet on the stovetop directly over a medium-high flame for two to three minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until it is briny smelling; expect steam to shoot from the foil.
• Remove from the heat and let cool. (If using pre-roasted shrimp paste, skip this step.)
• Use a food processor, grind the shrimp paste, palm sugar, and chillies to a fine texture.
• Add the tamarind and sweet soy sauce and process until smooth (you’ll have about half cup).
• Transfer to a bowl if using soon. Or, refrigerate in a tightly capped jar for up to a week; return to room temperature before using.
• Halve the tofu crosswise, then cut each half into squarish pieces of about 6 cm wide and 2 cm thick. You should have 12 pieces in total. Place in a bowl.
• Place the bean sprouts in another bowl. Set aside.
• Bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat. After the boiling subsides, measure three cups of water and add the salt, stirring to dissolve.
• Pour this salted water over the tofu, covering it. Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Pour the remaining (unsalted) hot water over the bean sprouts to cover. When the sprouts have softened, about two minutes, drain, flush with cold water, and set aside to drain well.
• The bean sprouts can be prepared several days in advance and refrigerated.
• When the tofu is ready, pour off the water, then transfer the pieces to a non-terry dish towel or double layer of paper towels placed atop a plate. Let drain for about 15 minutes.
• Heat 3 cm of oil in a wok, deep skillet, or saucepan over high heat to between 182°C – 187°C.
• Blot excess water from the tofu one last time, then fry in batches of four to six pieces, sliding them into the oil, then gently stirring them with chopsticks or a skimmer to fry evenly and prevent them from sticking.
• If they stick, let them fry until they are light golden before nudging them apart, or remove the pieces from the oil, separate, then quickly place back into the oil to finish frying.
• The tofu should be crisp and deep golden after two to three minutes.
• Drain the fried tofu on paper towels. Return the oil to temperature before frying another batch.
• Set the tofu aside to cool. The tofu may be fried and refrigerated up to five days; return it to room temperature before grilling.
• To grill the tofu, prepare a very hot charcoal fire (it’s ready when you can hold your hand over the rack for only two to three seconds) or heat a gas grill on high.
• Grill the tofu for about three minutes on each side, until hot and crisp with some dark charring.
• Dab some sauce on the tofu before it comes off the grill, for caramelisation, if you like.
• Transfer to a plate and let cool for a few minutes. (Alternatively, broil the tofu in a toaster oven directly on the rack for about six minutes, turning midway, until hot and slightly crisp at the edges.)
• Lay each piece of tofu on your work surface and use a paring knife to cut a pocket into one side.
• To assemble, drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of sauce into each pocket before stuffing in the bean sprouts and cucumber, letting a few hang out of the opening for flair.
• Serve the pockets on individual plates or a platter. Drizzle on some of the sauce and sprinkle on the peanuts.
• Offer extra sauce on the side. These pockets are best eaten as finger food.

This recipe can be found in Rasa Malaysia.

Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.