Name: Salt and pepper tofu
Cook time: 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: Vegetable oil,for deep-frying; 1 cup cornflour; Tofu,cut into 4 pieces (1 x 10 x 2cm); 4-5 cloves garlic,finely sliced; 1 large chilli,deseeded and chopped; 2 shallots,chopped; 1/2 tablespoon salt and pepper mixture*

Time:<30 mins

The launch of the book Blue Eye Dragon:Taiwanese Cooking was packed. The guests were authors Muriel and Jade Chen's regular customers. One of them even acted as MC for the night.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil,for deep-frying
1 cup cornflour
Tofu,cut into 4 pieces (1 x 10 x 2cm)
4-5 cloves garlic,finely sliced
1 large chilli,deseeded and chopped
2 shallots,chopped
1/2 tablespoon salt and pepper mixture*

Method

Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 180C . Put cornflour in a bowl and add the tofu. Gently coat the tofu and allow to rest for a minute. Deep-fry until golden brown. Lightly oil a wok,turn on high heat,throw in the garlic for a good stir,then the chilli and shallots. Finally add the tofu,sprinkle with some of the salt and pepper mixture and give it all a good toss. Serve with the remaining salt and pepper mixture on the side.* Make salt and pepper mixture by combining 4 tbsp salt,2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp ground white pepper then combine in a grinder until well blended.