This coconut lime tofu is a creamy yet slightly spicy and oh-so-zingy dish, perfect for those nights when you want a quick and delicious one-pan dinner, without the wait! It’s quite possibly my favourite recipe from my “15 in 15” series, sharing quick dinner fixes that come together in under fifteen minutes!
The star of the show is red curry paste, which adds a rich vibrancy to the creamy base of the coconut curry. Feel free to use store-bought curry paste, but to really level things up, I’ve also shared my homemade paste recipe below. It’s startlingly simple to blitz together and endlessly adaptable to other recipes too!
How To Make This Coconut Lime Tofu
Prep & cook the tofu
- Wrap a block of silken-firm tofu between kitchen towels and place something heavy on top to drain out the excess water. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes, then pat it dry and slice it up.
- Optional: for an extra crisp texture, coat the tofu slices in a bit of cornflour.
- In a pan, heat up some oil and pan-fry the tofu until it’s golden on both sides, flipping halfway through. Once it’s done, remove it and set it aside.
Prep the coconut sauce
- In the same pan, add a little more oil along with some sliced onion, minced garlic, and grated ginger.
- Stir until fragrant, then add in a red curry paste and a splash of hot sauce. The aroma will be irresistible at this point!
- Next, pour in some coconut milk, followed by a bit of soy sauce, brown sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice to balance all those flavors.
- Let the curry simmer for a few minutes until it thickens slightly and develops a deeper flavour.
Assemble your coconut lime tofu
- Add the crispy tofu back into the pan, stirring until it is well-combined with the rich and creamy coconut curry.
- To finish, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Serve with rice and dive into the most deliciously-cosy meal you’ve had yet!
Coconut Lime Tofu
This coconut lime tofu is rich, creamy, takes minutes to make but tastes as though it’s been simmering for hours! Serve it over rice for a quick and delicious one-pan dinner
Ingredients
For the red curry paste
- 9-10 dried red chillies (you can use Kashimiri chillies)
- 3-4 cloves garlic cloves
- 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 inch galangal/ ginger
- 2 lemongrass stalks (each about 2 inches tall), finely chopped
- 1 medium-sized onion
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- pinch of white or black peppercorns
- salt to taste
For the coconut lime tofu curry
- 1 block silken-firm tofu
- 3-4 tbsp corn flour
- 3-4 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ onion (sliced)
- 3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 knob of ginger (grated)
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha/ hot sauce
- 1-2 tbsp red curry paste (storebought or homemade)
- 250-350 ml coconut milk
- 1-2 tsp brown sugar
- 1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
- ½-1 lemon (juiced)
- scallions (for garnish)
- seame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
For the red curry paste
- Deseed the red chillies before soaking them in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1-2 tbsp of the water.
- Start by blitzing the onion into a wettish paste. Doing so separately , gives us the moisture we need to blend the remaining ingredients into a smooth paste.
- Now add the red chillies along with the remaining ingredients for the curry paste, adding 1 tbsp of the reserved water if required. Blend until smooth and your homemade red curry paste is ready!
For the coconut lime tofu curry
- Wrap the block of tofu between kitchen towels (placing a small saucepan on top). Let it sit for 10-15 minutes or so to drain out the excess water.
- Then pat tofu dry with clean kitchen towels and slice it.
- Coat the tofu slices lightly in corn flour for a more crisp and golden texture.
- Gently heat 1-2 tbsp sesame oil/ any oil of choice in a pan.
- Pan-fry silken-firm/ firm tofu slices until golden brown on both sides (flipping half way).
- Remove the tofu and set aside.
- In the same pan, stir in the sesame oil, onion, garlic, red curry paste and hot sauce. Cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly until fragrant.
- Once fragrant, add 250-300 ml coconut milk , then stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce and lemon juice.
- Let the curry simmer for a few minutes for a deeper flavour.
- Then add back your cooked tofu.
- Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds – serve with rice and DIVE IN!
Video
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