Veggie-Stuffed Tofus (Tahu Isi)
What can I say about these babies, except that they’re delicious and surprisingly filling. They’re a popular snack in Indonesia and don’t require too many difficult ingredients. They’re good to eat on their own, but Indonesians would eat these with a piece of fresh green bird’s eye chilli. (I know, I know, in the pic it’s red chilli) Yumm… Just writing about it makes my mouth water. 😀
So, what do you need to make tahu isi? Well, quite obviously, tofu. Let’s talk about the tofus for a minute. For this recipe you will need firm tofu, not the silken one. Because the tofus are going to be hollowed out and then fried, they need to be firm and not crumble at the slightest touch. Secondly, I’d recommend to get fresh tofu, if you can. If you go to your Asian grocer, just ask for them and they’ll fish them out for you. But, of course, if you don’t want to make the extra trip to an Asian grocer, just the tofu from the vegetarian/vegan aisle in your supermarket will do. Make sure you get the normal one instead of the smoked kind, though.
Now, the filling. You’ll need bean sprouts, shredded carrots and shredded cabbage. For time, I bought the pre-shredded carrots and cabbage. They cost a little bit more than if you buy whole and shred them yourselves. But I have two little monkeys and I ain’t got any time for that… 😛
The size of the finished product will entirely be up to you. A lot of the time, the tofus are just halved into triangles. However, this time, the tofus that I bought were on the larger side and I also wanted my kids to be able to handle them without making too much mess. So, I quartered them and they became these cute-as-a-button mini triangles.
When hollowing out the tofus, make sure you make a large enough holes but also be careful not to go too close to the edge and break the surface. I use teaspoons to do this, but you can use whatever tool is easier for you. Don’t discard the pieces, you’re going to crumble them and add into the filling. We do not waste here. 🙂
While sautéing the veggies, be sure to taste it and add a tad more salt than you normally would. It will all balance out when you have a big bite of everything.
Last tip from me, and then you can go ahead and have the fun yourself: As always, when deep frying or frying anything with a bit more oil, drain them on a cooling rack placed on top of a lined baking sheet. This will drain the excess oil and ensure your tofus to stay crispy even hours after.
If you have any questions, do let me know in the comment sections and I will try my best to get back to you quickly. Have fun in the kitchen!
Cheers, Revi
Veggie-Stuffed Tofus (Tahu Isi)
Ingredients
- 2 Firm fresh tofu
- 1 tbs Oil for sautéing the veggies
- 2 Shallots medium sized, grated
- 2 cloves Garlic grated
- 1 ½ tsp Salt or to taste
- ½ tsp White pepper
- ½ cup Carrots shredded
- â…“ cup Cabbage shredded
- â…“ cup Bean sprouts
- Oil for frying
Batter
- 50 gram All purpose flour
- ½ tbsp Tapioca starch
- ½ tsp Salt
- 100 ml Water
Instructions
- Cut the tofus into triangles, you should get four triangles out of one block of tofu.
- With a spoon, hollow our the middle of the tofu. Set the hollowed triangles aside.
- Combine all the veggies in a mixing bowl. Add the pieces from the tofu.
- Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan on medium high. Sauté shallots and garlic until fragrant.
- Add tofu and veggie mixture. Sauté until the veggies have softened.
- Add salt and white pepper.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Let cool slightly.
- Preheat oil on medium heat.
- Make the batter by mixing flour, tapioca starch, salt water until you get a rather thick batter.
- Fill the hollowed out tofus with the veggie filling, making sure the filling is tightly packed.
- Dip the tofus in the batter and immediately fry until golden brown.
- Let cool slightly on a cooling rack that's been placed on a baking tray lined with kitchen towel.
- Enjoy either on its own or with a bird's eye chilli! 😉