Lemon Tofu Fakeaway

Serves 2-3

I absolutely love lemon chicken and here is my vegan version, which is so so good even if I do say so myself.

Cooking the tofu, dusted in cornflour in hot oil until it goes all crispy is a must, you won’t be disappointed by spending the time to create these nuggets of yumminess.

This is both vegan and gluten-free as long as you ensure the soy sauce and vegetable stock are. It’s also worth pressing the tofu to remove as much water as you can before cooking too.

Ingredients:

For the tofu:

300g firm tofu, cut into pieces about 1cm by 2cm

4 tbsp corn flour

Pinch of ground white pepper

Vegetable oil

For the stir fry:

Vegetable oil

1 onion, large dice

2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

2 inches of ginger, julienned or grated

1 pepper, large dice

For the sauce:

2 lemons (juice and zest)

3 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tsp sesame oil

3 tsp sugar

400ml vegetable stock (gluten-free/vegan as required)

Salt and Pepper

Step 1: Begin by mixing the cornflour and ground white pepper together in an bowl. Heat some vegetable oil in a wok(the base of the wok or frying pan should be coated in a layer of oil a couple of millimetres deep), and when hot, start coating the pieces of tofu in the flour mix and carefully adding to the hot oil. Make sure each piece is making full contact with the oil, no overlapping. Allow to get really crispy (but not burning) before turning and cooking on all sides. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Then remove the crispy tofu and leave to one side on a plate. The bowl of leftover corn flour can have a little cold water added to it to make a cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce later.

Step 2: Return the wok or frying pan to the heat, add a little more vegetable oil and then add the onion, pepper, ginger and garlic. Stir fry for a few minutes and then add the soy sauce, lemon zest and juice, followed by the hot vegetable stock and the cornflour slurry. Give everything a good stir.

Step 3: Cook out for a few minutes and then add the sesame oil, sugar and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Check the seasoning to taste.

Step 4: Add the crispy tofu to the sauce and cook for a couple more minutes and then serve with rice and, if you like, stir fried green vegetables such as pak choi.