Hot-Tingly-Sour Silken Tofu

This recipe is from her recent article in the Financial Times on August 13, 2022. Like her, I do often crave for this popular Sichuan street snack. The prep time is only 10-15 mins. It's a quick, yet satisfying and healthy lunch option. I was initially skeptical of adding avocado to this dish, but the creamy flesh is indeed a delicious addition to this bowl of flavor explosion. Our red Sichuan pepper oil can speed up the preparation, and we used our Sichuan pepper peanuts as the crunchy bits. Following this tofu thread, you mustn't miss this article by Fuchsia on everything you need to know about tofu.

Ingredients:

• 300g silken tofu
• Half a perfectly ripe avocado
• 1 tbs Sichuan preserved vegetables, or kimchi, or American style pickles
• 2 tbs green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbs Chinkiang vinegar or other vinegar
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbs chili oil plus 1 tbs chili sediment (to taste); I used the classic laoganma chili oil crisp
• half tsp sesame oil
• half tsp ground toasted red Sichuan peppers or red Sichuan pepper oil
• A small handful of 50Hertz Sichuan pepper nuts

Steps

1. Step 1: Bring some water to the boil in a small saucepan. Use a spoon to scoop large masses of tofu into the water and heat gently for five to 10 minutes to warm it through.
2. Step 2: Chop the preserved vegetable and green onions and assemble the seasonings. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and cut one half, still in its peel, into 1-2cm cubes.
3. Step 3: When the tofu is ready, gently remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving bowl, draining as much water as possible.
4. Step 4: Spoon all the seasonings over the tofu. Scoop out the avocado pieces and place them on top. Add the preserved vegetable, green onions and peanuts. Mix everything together before eating.