This recipe is brilliant if you fancy a bit of sweet and sour and don’t fancy meat. The tofu goes super crispy and the rich sauce is packed with the flavours of ginger, garlic, chilli and soy. My friend Steve made it with a small tin of pineapple chunks in juice and added a tablespoon of the juice. He said it tasted better than traditional sweet and sour sauce. You can serve it with rice if you prefer, and it’s the perfect vegan homemade takeaway .

Ingredients

serves 2 (you can multiply it for more people)

1 box of extra firm tofu approx 300g( drained)

1 cup corn flour

a few tablespoons of oil (I use coconut)

the sauce fo the tofu

1/4 cup of tamari

6 tbs of tomato purée

2 tbs of rice vinegar

6 tbs maple syrup (or brown sugar)

2 tsp of sriracha or a big pinch of chilli flakes

1 tbs freshly grated ginger

4 cloves of garlic finely grated

2 tsp of toasted sesame oil

1 tsp of coconut oil

1 small tin of pineapple chunks in juice (optional but recommended)

Plus a big sprinkling of sesame seeds

The rest

1 packet of noodles, I used fresh noodles from an Asian store but rice or wheat noodles from the supermarket work too

a couple of bok choy or a big bunch of sum choy

1 punnet of mushrooms( any type you fancy, I made it with brown beech mushrooms from my Asian store)

How

Firstly, unwrap the tofu, drain and place in a clean towel and place a weight on top to get rid of the excess water. Leave for 10 minutes. Then chop into cubes, whatever’s size you prefer.

Put the cornflour in a bowl and toss the tofu cubes in it till they are coated. Heat up a large frying pan with the coconut oil, I use non stick as it makes life easier. Fry the tofu on one side until golden and crispy, then turn them over with a fork and cook the other side, the same as before. Place on a plate and set aside.

Next steam the mushrooms and bok choy or sum choy together for about 5 minutes until tender and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.

Meanwhile make the sauce by mixing the tomato purée, tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and sriracha.

Heat a pan up and add the teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the garlic and sauté till starting to get golden. Add the tamari mixture and cook for 5 minutes. You can immerse the tofu in the sauce or serve it separately.

Next place the noodles and greens on plates and spoon the tofu on top, then add the sauce where you want it and sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve straight away.