The waiter sits us down. I’m anxious about the time. “We only have an hour, will we have enough time?”
He looks at me. “Sure, if you order in a reasonable amount of time.”
Yep, touche. Flicking through the menu. Vietnamese is one of my favourite Asian foods, but sadly often not a huge range for vegetarians beyond rice paper rolls. Ditto for the average Chinese restaurant. Not like Thai; lots of choice there!
So predictably we both want to order rice paper rolls. But it’s winter! So we should eat something warm… plus I always feel so silly when we order the same dish, it seems redundant.
Ooo, salt and pepper tofu! I hear about people liking salt and pepper squid so why not tofu? We can split both dishes.
After five minutes the rice paper rolls are here! Bit too much noodle, and the rice paper is very chewy… but the peanut sauce is some of the thickest I’ve ever seen! Best part!
Another five minutes and the tofu arrives, deep-fried oblongs piled on top of each other and scattered with green onion and chilli.
Each tofu pillow is pale with a thin scratchy salted skin. Enough looking, got to eat before it gets cold!
First thought: yup, salty and peppery. It’s white pepper, which I prefer, giving it bite without the overloading aftertaste. The batter is very thin, almost like the pieces were just rolled in scratchy seasoning before cooking. It crunches gently, a little glutinous at times.
The tofu itself is magnificent. Silken and soft, almost melting like butter in my mouth. Without its crust it would be nearly runny, and the contrast of textures is great. The taste is neutral of course, but that works when seasoned with this much kick.
Oo! Bit into a chilli! Hot hot! Drink water. No good. Need something else. Sticking a bit of the peanut sauce on my tongue, rolling it around. Ah… much better.
Okay, stick to the green onion and brush the red bits off.
More salt than pepper. The Australian in me suddenly wants vinegar. There is a smidge of oiliness but they’re quite dry considering. Good, I hate my tongue being awash with oil.
Can’t quite finish the plate. It’s very filling, all that protein.
Well, not healthy like rice paper rolls, but tasty! Too much effort to cook at home so a nice treat to eat out.
And we’re all done within half an hour. The waiter looks smug when I pay. “I told you.”
You did, you did.
Rating: 
Specifics: Spicy salt and pepper tofu (dau hu rang muoi
Spicy Salt and Pepper Tofu
The waiter sits us down. I’m anxious about the time. “We only have an hour, will we have enough time?”
He looks at me. “Sure, if you order in a reasonable amount of time.”
Yep, touche. Flicking through the menu. Vietnamese is one of my favourite Asian foods, but sadly often not a huge range for vegetarians beyond rice paper rolls. Ditto for the average Chinese restaurant. Not like Thai; lots of choice there!
So predictably we both want to order rice paper rolls. But it’s winter! So we should eat something warm… plus I always feel so silly when we order the same dish, it seems redundant.
Ooo, salt and pepper tofu! I hear about people liking salt and pepper squid so why not tofu? We can split both dishes.
After five minutes the rice paper rolls are here! Bit too much noodle, and the rice paper is very chewy… but the peanut sauce is some of the thickest I’ve ever seen! Best part!
Another five minutes and the tofu arrives, deep-fried oblongs piled on top of each other and scattered with green onion and chilli.
Each tofu pillow is pale with a thin scratchy salted skin. Enough looking, got to eat before it gets cold!
First thought: yup, salty and peppery. It’s white pepper, which I prefer, giving it bite without the overloading aftertaste. The batter is very thin, almost like the pieces were just rolled in scratchy seasoning before cooking. It crunches gently, a little glutinous at times.
The tofu itself is magnificent. Silken and soft, almost melting like butter in my mouth. Without its crust it would be nearly runny, and the contrast of textures is great. The taste is neutral of course, but that works when seasoned with this much kick.
Oo! Bit into a chilli! Hot hot! Drink water. No good. Need something else. Sticking a bit of the peanut sauce on my tongue, rolling it around. Ah… much better.
Okay, stick to the green onion and brush the red bits off.
More salt than pepper. The Australian in me suddenly wants vinegar. There is a smidge of oiliness but they’re quite dry considering. Good, I hate my tongue being awash with oil.
Can’t quite finish the plate. It’s very filling, all that protein.
Well, not healthy like rice paper rolls, but tasty! Too much effort to cook at home so a nice treat to eat out.
And we’re all done within half an hour. The waiter looks smug when I pay. “I told you.”
You did, you did.
Rating:
Specifics: Spicy salt and pepper tofu (dau hu rang muoi