Tofu Balls in Sweet & Sour Sauce
Ingredients
- Tofu balls ingredients:
- ~ 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
- Sweet & sour sauce (adjust sweetness/tartness to your preference):
- ~ 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
- ?Other ingredients: 1 cup chopped asparagus, few slices of red chilis, oil, white pepper & salt to taste
Preparation
To make the tofu balls, mash tofu with a fork or potato masher. Place mashed tofu in a cheesecloth bag & squeeze out as much liquid as possible, empty it in a bowl & season with salt & white pepper.
In a heated non-stick pan with 1 teaspoon oil, sauté ginger until fragrant. Then, cook mushrooms & carrot for 3 mins by stirring continuously over med-high heat. Season with soy sauce/salt. Add this mixture to tofu along with chopped cilantro & cornstarch. Mix ingredients with hands until fully combined. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of mixture & roll into balls using your palms. The texture should be bouncy & not too wet but still pliable to form a ball. Place tofu balls on a lined baking sheet & refrigerate for at least 15 mins.
Preheat air fryer to 390F for 3 mins. Remove tofu balls from refrigerator & brush oil on each ball & the air fryer rack. Air fried for 5 - 8 mins at 390F with a shake in between. I did mine in 2 batches.
To make the sauce, sauté onion & garlic with 2 teaspoons oil in a pan until onion turns translucent. Add all sauce ingredients & let simmer for 2 mins. Then, cook asparagus in the sauce for 1-2 mins & toss in tofu balls. Season accordingly & serve warm with rice. Enjoy