Tahu Campur - Tofu with Bean Sprouts and Peanut Sauce

In addition to making Mie Jawa, this morning my Mom and I also made Tahu Campur (Tofu with Bean Sprouts and Peanut Sauce). Although I love the simplicity of this tasty dish, I don't think I will be making it often back in San Francisco because I rarely deep-fry things there - maybe some day when I have a bigger kitchen with better ventilation. I'm glad that I was able to make this in Indonesia.

If you feel ambitious, you can also add hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, boiled vegetables (cabbage, green bean and potatoes) and shrimp crackers to make a full meal like Gado-gado.

Grinding the fried peanuts and garlic.


Putting everything together.


Ingredients:
1 packed of firm tofu
2 cup of fresh (soy) bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1.5 cup raw peanut
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup fried shallots
1 green chili (optional)
1 cup sweet soy sauce
1/4 cup of water
peanut or canola oil for frying

Directions:

• Put the tofu between two plates and put a heavy frying pan on top for 30 minutes or so to drain the liquid in the tofu.
• Cut the tofu to 8 equal slices.
• Heat up the frying oil in a wok over medium heat.
• Deep fry the tofu slices in the oil until golden.
• Drain the fried tofu and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.
  
• Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for a minute or so, drain and pour on top of the chopped parsley leaves.
  

For the peanut sauce:

• Deep fry the peanuts until golden in a wok over low medium heat for 10 minutes or so.
• Grind the fried peanuts, garlic, sugar and fried shallots in a food processor until roughly chopped. I used mortar and pestle to do this (see picture).
• In a medium bowl, mix the green chili (optional), soy sauce and water together with the peanut mixture.
• The sauce should be quite watery and peanut mixture chunks.

• Serve the tofu with a side of the bean sprouts with a drizzle of the peanut sauce.