Timo wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:05:55 PM UTC+10, tert in seattle wrote:
>> Timo wrote:
>>
>> > Sticky sauce also works OK for avoiding tofu blandness. Deep frying first is good when you don't have a sticky sauce.
>>
>> what do you put in a sticky sauce?
>
> To thicken it so that it's sticky, either bean paste (various Chinese types will work, or Korean bean paste or Japanese miso) or cornflour (i.e., cornstarch). Other starches such as potato flour or arrowroot work OK, too. Potato starch is more authentic in a lot of Chinese recipes.
>
> Or you can just start with more sauce, and reduce it until it is thick and sticky. Oyster sauce will also help thicken the sauce.
>
> Stuff in the sauce for flavour will often include chilli or chilli-bean paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, rice wine, ginger, garlic, green coriander. Sometimes I use cumin.


I remembered to buy tofu (two dollars - cheap!) and just fried the stuff
and arbitrarily added some ginger and soy sauce and lemon and lime juice
and garlic, and realized I needed to fry it hotter, and tasted a little,
and it needed help so I added some kung pao sauce (also two dollars) and
voila - tofu that looked and tasted a lot like the stuff at the restaurant:

http://www.ftupet.com/upload/DSC_9468.JPG