Dau Hu Chien Sot Ca Chua (Fried Tofu in Tomato Sauce)

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Happy New Years folks! As part of my new years resolution, I want to make an effort to cook Vietnamese dishes and blog them. So, to start the new year off right, here's another recipe :)

I've been taking a hiatus from posting new dishes due to the crazy holiday/medical school interview season... but I'm back with another Vietnamese dish! This is one of my favorite Vietnamese home cooking dishes... it's so simple yet very savory! And even though it's a fried dish, I'd like to think the tofu makes it a slightly healthier option :)

Ingredients:
1/2 or 1 full pack of Medium/medium-firm tofu
1 full tomato
2 green onions
Fish sauce
Sugar
Chicken granules

1. Cut medium/medium-firm tofu in 1/4 inch rectangles. Don't cut too small or too big chunks!
2. Deep fry until slightly golden and crispy. Tip: make sure the oil is completely hot before frying or the tofu will soak up excess oil! And use canola oil or vegetable oil over olive oil... It can stand a higher temperature than olive oil... and it's cheaper! The frying process might take a while though...
3. Once fried, place the tofu on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil. 
4. Cut 1/2-1 whole tomato to 1/8 pieces... You can go a little smaller if you'd like.. like 1/10 pieces or so. 
5. Dice 1-2 green onions & separate the scallions from the green onion part. 
6. In a large skillet, add a little oil and wait for the pan to get hot. Cook on high heat! 
7. Throw in scallions until slightly golden brown. Then throw in tomatoes and stir for 30 seconds. 
8. Add the tofu and take the pan off the heat. IMPORTANT step! This keeps the sauces in rather than being dried out!
9. With the pan off the heat, add some fish sauce (I'd say a splash or two), some chicken granules or chicken broth (like 1/4 a pho spoon), and some sugar (like 1/4 a pho spoon).
10. Place back on the heat and stir... add in the green onions and continue stirring. Re-taste and add more sugar, fish sauce, or chicken broth as needed. Make sure to stir/mix well in order to evenly distribute the sauces! I always have trouble with this.. some parts are super sugary and some parts are super fish saucy... 
11. It's done when the tofu is just a little soaked with the juices. 


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