Đậu Hủ Sốt Cà Chua (Tofu with Tomato Sauce)

I wanted to make a Vietnamese dinner for my boyfriend A and me. Since he's vegetarian, I decided to make đậu hủ sốt cà chua (tofu with tomato sauce). This is a dish my mom often made with rice. It consists of fried tofu, topped with a tomato sauce. It's funny because in Western cuisine, tofu has become an alternative for meat. In Asian cuisine, tofu is just another ingredient so it is often paired with meat. However, this dish is vegetarian (although my mom makes a similar dish with tofu stuffed with meat).

I am hosting the 7th edition of Delicious Vietnam, a monthly food blogging event created by A Food Lovers Journey and Ravenous Couple, to highlight Vietnamese cusine. Look for the round-up next week!



Đậu Hủ Sốt Cà Chua (Tofu with Tomato Sauce) - Serves 4

For the tomato sauce
This sauce is super easy to make. It has a bit of sweet (from the added sugar) & sour (from the tomatoes) flavours going. My mom also likes to serve fried fish with this tomato sauce.

* oil
* ½ onion, diced small
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 4 plum tomatoes, diced
* salt, to taste
* black pepper, to taste
* 1-2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

In a pan, heat up some oil.
Add the onion and garlic until softened.
Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat.
Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste (I like the sauce on the sweet side so I do add a good amount of sugar).
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are cooked and have broken down a bit, resulting in a thick tomato sauce.
Taste and adjust seasoning.



For the tofu
You can prepare the tofu while the sauce cooks down.

* 1 package (1 lb) firm tofu
* salt
* minced lemongrass (I buy it frozen)

Slice the tofu into ½" thick slices.
Pat each slice of tofu dry with a paper towel (it will help the tofu crispen when you fry it).
Season liberally with salt and lemongrass. (Since tofu doesn't have much taste, I try to coat each slice to make sure each is properly seasoned.)
In a pan, heat oil.
Fry the tofu about 3-4 minutes on each side, until nicely golden brown.
Top the tofu with the tomato sauce.
Serve with rice.
Tada!



Preparing the tofu.

If you would like to join in this blogging event, please e-mail me at Miss.Adventure[at]live[dot]com, making sure to include “Delicious Vietnam” in the subject line before the end of the day on Sunday, November 15 (sorry for the short notice!). Please include the following information:
• Your Name
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• Your Post URL
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Entries to Delicious Vietnam must be written specifically for this event only. Of course, do submit your photos to photo sites and events. Please make sure that your post contains the phrase Delicious Vietnam with a link to the host (Miss.Adventure at Home), and to the two founders (A food lover’s journey and Ravenous Couple). If you use Twitter, please include the tag #deliciousvietnam in your post.