My love affair with tofu started somewhere around age 10. My favorite Thai restaurant (which was the only Thai restaurant within a several town radius of my own) served the most perfect fried tofu triangles with peanut sauce. The tofu was crunchy on the outside and moist and simply flavored within. Smothered in rich peanut sauce and quickly dipped in the restaurant’s bright nuoc cham, each bite was an adventure for my inexperienced palate.

This flawless little appetizer is the reason I’ve stuck with making endless rounds of mediocre tofu for decades, ever in the search of some cooking method that would replicate that early food memory. I’ve shallow-fried, deep-fried and roasted infinite sheet trays. I’ve drained and pressed tofu overnight in the refrigerator, frozen and thawed it, and worked with every texture from silken to extra firm. I’ve quick-marinated and left tofu to sit with seasoning for several days before cooking. While much of these efforts came with some reward, the texture has always been…meh.

It wasn’t until I came upon a recipe from Cookies and Kate that I discovered the merits of cornstarch.

Just one generous spoonful added to whatever tofu marinade produces perfectly crispy tofu. In fact, you don’t even need a marinade; a little salt, oil and cornstarch will do it. It’s as if the cornstarch forms a protective coat around your tofu cubes, allowing the outside to get extra crunchy while the inside stays steamy and moist. And it can be baked in the oven!

I hope you enjoy this tofu as much as I do. While it’s a perfect topper on the loaded rice bowl detailed below, you can pare the dish back substantially for an easy weeknight meal. I’d be just as happy with this tofu, warm rice, a couple of wedges of ripe avocado and soy sauce. Let me know what you think!

p.s. If you want to watch me prepare this “live”, head over to Instagram.

STICKY RICE WITH CRISPY TOFU AND BRUSSELS HASH

Ingredients

For tofu…

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu (usually around 1lb)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tsp agave (or honey or maple syrup)
• 1 scant tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil or other cooking oil of choice

For brussels sprout hash…

• 1 lb brussels sprouts, outer leaves trimmed and thinly sliced (use a Cuisinart with the slicer attachment if you have it)
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (use a Cuisinart with the slicer attachment if you have it)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Remaining ingredients (all optional except the rice)…

• 1 cup sushi rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
• Rice wine vinegar
• Kosher salt
• Sugar
• Fresh herbs (any combination of cilantro, mint, scallions, basil)
• Hard boiled eggs
• To serve: soy sauce, lime wedges

Method

For tofu…

1. Preheat the oven to 425 and line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
2. Drain the tofu and wrap in a couple of layers of paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Weight it down using your heaviest skillet to help drain its excess moisture for at least 10 minutes. An hour is even better. Slice the drained, pressed tofu into ~ – inch cubes.
3. Transfer the cubes into a shallow vessels and drizzle with soy sauce, agave, sesame oil and sriracha. Toss to combine. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the tofu and toss again until no powdery cornstarch remains. Finally, drizzle with the evoo, grapeseed or other oil of choice and toss again. Do this gently so not to break up the fragile tofu too much.
4. Transfer the tofu to the prepared baking sheet, leaving behind the excess liquid. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the highest rack, flipping halfway through, until the tofu us deeply golden and crisp. Cool on sheet tray for 5 minutes.

For brussels hash…

1. Prepare a second sheet tray with parchment paper and tumble on the thinly sliced brussels sprouts and shallot. Drizzle with a glug of evoo, grapeseed or other oil of choice and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.
2. Roast on the bottom rack for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the brussels sprouts are a nice combination of bright green and deeply browned. Cool on sheet tray for 5 minutes.

Make quick pickled vegetables

1. Put the carrot, cucumber and red onion into their own small bowls. Top each with about 1 tsp of rice vinegar and season each with a pinch of kosher salt and sugar. Massage the vinegar and seasoning into the vegetables to quick pickle them. Set them aside for 5 minutes. (You can also prepare these days ahead and keep them in the fridge).

Assemble bowls (woo!)

2. Make a bed of sticky rice. Top with crispy tofu, a nice helping of brussels hash, little mountains of the pickled vegetables, a few sliced of avocado, some egg and a handful of fresh herbs. Serve with soy sauce and lime wedges.

Serves 3-4 people