sticky marmalade tofu

Recipe from Five Ingredient Vegan by Katy Beskow (Quadrille, £15) Photography © Luke J Albert.

During my years as a vegan, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with tofu. The love part is when tofu is crisp, golden and full of flavour; the hate part is when tofu is spongy and soggy!

The trick to perfect tofu is to remove as much moisture as possible (I’ve detailed how to press it below) and gently dust it with flour before cooking, for fail-safe crisp tofu.

The sticky marmalade glaze has a hint of chilli – don’t miss the coriander and sea salt, which will balance and enhance all the flavours.

Serve with my 5-minute fried rice (page 192 of Five Ingredient Vegan), if you like.

Serves 2 generously

390g (131⁄2oz) block of firm tofu

2 tsp plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tbsp sunflower oil

3 heaped tbsp orange marmalade

pinch of dried chilli flakes

small handful of coriander (cilantro), roughly torn

generous pinch of sea salt

Cut out the pressing stage by sourcing pre-pressed tofu. Standard firm tofu is now available in supermarkets.

Remove as much moisture from the tofu as possible using a tofu press. Alternatively, wrap the tofu block in paper towels and place on a plate. Place another plate on top of the block and add a couple of books or a pan to weight it down. Press for at least 1 hour.

Slice through the tofu lengthways to create three thin blocks of tofu, then chop each slice into even triangles.

Spread out the flour on a clean work surface and lightly toss each piece of tofu in the flour to coat.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

Once the oil is hot, use tongs to add the tofu to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until golden, then turn the tofu over and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the outer is crisp and golden.

In the meantime, whisk together the marmalade, chilli flakes and 1 tablespoon of cold water in a bowl.

Pour the glaze into the pan, coating the tofu evenly.

Remove from the heat and scatter with the coriander and sea salt.