Tao Kwa Goreng 炸豆干

It's a lazy Sunday morning and I had to wake up to prepare breakfast. Making use of the tao kwa (firm tofu) that I had in my refrigerator seemed like a easy and quick fix idea. I'm glad this Tao Kwa Goreng 炸豆干 turned out to be a perfect breakfast for us. Happy Sunday to all my friends!

Ingredients (enough for 2 pax) :

2 pcs tao kwa (firm tofu)(available at supermarkets and wet markets)
a handful of bean sprouts (roots trimmed, washed and pat dry)
8 pcs thinly sliced cucumbers
2 tbsp crushed nuts (optional)
cooking oil (for deep frying)

Sauce :

1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili sauce
sugar (to taste)
grounded black pepper (to taste)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)

Method :

Heat enough cooking oil (to submerge at least half the tao kwa) in saucepan at medium heat.
When cooking oil is sufficiently hot, pat dry tao kwa and deep fry in saucepan till golden brown on all sides.
Remove tao kwa from saucepan, drain oil and set aside to cool.
Prepare sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients in a bowl and heat in microwave oven, oven or over the stove. Set aside.
Meanwhile, fold in bean sprouts into hot cooking oil.
Turn off heat and remove beansprouts from saucepan after few seconds.
When tao kwa is cool enough, use a knife to slice across in between.
Assemble cucumber slices, beansprouts, sauce and tao kwa together.
Drizzle generously with sauce and sprinkle with grounded black pepper and crushed nuts before serve.
Serve hot.