Pla rad prik or “fried fish covered in chilli” is a very popular Thai dish. I’ve made this dish a few times with different protein replacements. Mock fish was okay but kind of predictable and boring. Basic tau hu tod or fried tofu was tasty but a bit lacklustre. Then I had an idea to try breaded tofu. Wow! The awesome crunch of the tofu katsu plus the chilli sauce is an explosive combination! And so tofu katsu rad prik was born.
This dish is actually really easy to make if you are friends with deep frying. It’s a standard batter and breadcrumb process. My katsu batter was adapted from The Foodie Takes Flight’s recipe. Unlike many Thai dishes, the rad prik chilli sauce is basic and only requires a few ingredients. Once your tofu is deep-fried, it takes only 3-5 minutes to get the sauce done and dusted.
One thing about this dish is that you have to have it hot! Best to dig in right after the sauce is poured on! The tofu katsu stays crunchy and crispy for a good 10-15 minutes even after the sauce is on, but it does get soggy over time.
This dish is perfect with a bowl of plain rice.
Ingredients
- For Batter
- Sauce
Instructions
- Cut tofu into nice big pieces.
- Mix all the batter ingredients together. Prepare two stations, one with the batter and one with the breadcrumbs. The best idea is to use a "wet hand" for dipping the tofu into the batter, and a "dry hand" for coating the tofu with breadcrumbs.
- Heat about 800ml or four fingers depth of oil in a large and deep saucepan. Drip a small amount of batter into the oil, if the batter cooks and rises immediately, the oil is hot enough. Gently place your breadcrumbed tofu into the oil and fry until golden. Remove onto a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
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Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the chillies and garlic until fragrant. It is nicer if the garlic gets a little brown and crispy. Add the coriander or seaweed at the end, if you are using.
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Turn the heat down to low. Add the liquid components of the sauce and just cook briefly until the sugar has melted.
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Pour the sauce over the deep-fried tofu and serve hot!
That tofu looks and sounds perfect ๐