Tofu Balls in Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
Tofu balls
- 14oz extra firm tofu, drained really well
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup low moisture mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- handful of chopped cilantro
Sauce
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce/tamari
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup/organic sugar
Additional
- 1 cup chopped asparagus
- few slices of red chilis
- oil
- white pepper & salt to taste
Preparation
Mash tofu with a fork or potato masher. Place mashed tofu in a cheesecloth bag and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, empty it in a bowl and season with salt and white pepper.
In a heated non-stick pan with 1 teaspoon oil, sauté ginger until fragrant. Then, cook mushrooms and carrot for 3 minutes by stirring continuously over medium-high heat. Season with soy sauce or salt. Add this mixture to tofu along with chopped cilantro and cornstarch. Mix ingredients with hands until fully combined. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of mixture and roll into balls using your palms. The texture should be bouncy and not too wet but still pliable to form a ball. Place tofu balls on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat air fryer to 390F for 3 minutes. Remove tofu balls from refrigerator and brush oil on each ball and the air fryer rack. Air fry for 5 to 8 minutes at 390F with a shake in between. This may be done in batches.
To make the sauce, sauté onion and garlic with 2 teaspoons oil in a pan until onion turns translucent. Add all sauce ingredients and let simmer for 2 minutes. Then, cook asparagus in the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes and toss in tofu balls. Season accordingly and serve warm with rice. Enjoy.