I had a craving for this dish which I used to love as a child when we would very occasionally go to a Chinese restaurant. Of course it wasn’t tofu back then, was probably chicken or pork but it was the way that sweet tangy sauce soaked into the rice that I loved so this satisfies that completely! After trying a few recipes I found on the net, I combined the best of them plus a few variations to make this version. We usually enjoy it with some steamed bok choi or broccoli on the side. You can also add other vegetables such as snow peas or bamboo shoots / beansprouts at the end if you like.
Sweet & Sour Tofu
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Cooking time may be extended depending on how long it takes to cook your rice. I use a rice cooker and ours takes around 30 minutes.
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 300g pack of firm tofu (we like to use smoked but plain is fine)
- 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Juice from 1 400g can pineapple pieces
- ½ cup water
- Pineapple pieces from the can
- 2 tablespoons brown unrefined sugar
- 2 heaped teaspoons corn flour
- 2 cloves garlic, minced / microplaned
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 large red capsicum cut into strips
- 1 large green or yellow capsicum, cut into strips
- 1 large red onion, sliced into strips
- 1 small can water chestnuts, drained - optional
- 4 tablespoons roasted cashews - optional
Instructions
- Put your brown ride on to cook
- Mix together the pineapple juice, vinegar, tomato ketchup, soy sauce and lime juice in a small bowl, whisk in the corn flour and water and mix thoroughly until smooth with no lumps. Put the tofu in to a shallow dish and pour the sauce over and leave to marinade.
- When then rice is almost ready heat a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat and saute the onion and peppers until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and stir around for 5 minutes, adding a tiny splash of water if any sticking is occurring. Put on the lid and allow to cook on a low heat for a further few minutes until peppers are tender.
- Add the tofu and sauce to the pan, along with the pineapple, water chestnuts and cashews. Stir consistently until the sauce thickens and becomes transparent. Add a splash more water as needed to create as much sauce as you'd like.
- Serve with the rice and accompanying vegetables as desired.