Growing up in Indonesia, I’ve developed what one might call the “spicy gene.” If I could describe how important Chili is in our life (I believe in most Indonesian’s lives, too), Chili isn’t just food ingredients; it is a way of life… a “lifestyle” for most Indonesians 😊. We’re so into (our) Chili and spicy food that we practically put our best effort into carrying our hot sauce bottles or sachets everywhere we go! Though hot or Chili sauces are almost present in other countries or places, we still love our hot sauces so much that we insist on bringing our own hot sauce wherever we go 😊.
One of the classic or essential chili mixes in Indonesian cooking is called “Cabe Garam,” directly translated into English as “Chili Salt.” I can say that it’s like the classic version of “lemon and pepper” seasoning pairing in the Western food scene. The “Cabe garam” mix commonly comprises simple ingredients such as minced garlic, chili, green onions, salt, pepper, and shallots. This spicy and salty mix is versatile and is almost good to season any fried or crispy food—including fried fish, chicken, tofu, mushroom, squid, even fried cassava, and many more! Recently, I tried to make the “Cabe Garam” style of baked tofu and pair it with a bowl of warm rice and fresh English cucumber (by the way, the English cucumber in Vancouver is super tasty by itself; it is sweet and nice umami taste, I can ultimately snack it just by itself!). It was really satisfying; I have been thinking of remaking this tofu again soon!
Ingredients
Baked Tofu
300 g of extra firm tofu, cut into small squares
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp corn starch
Soy sauce (optional)
Chili and Salt Mix
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 pcs of serrano chili
1/2 of red onion, minced
1 stalk of green onions, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsb mushroom extract powder (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare to make the baked tofu: Cut the extra firm tofu block into uniform small squares. Generally, the extra firm tofu will have much less excess water in the packaging than the softer ones. However, squeezing out some of the water from the tofu and packaging is strongly recommended by pressing it gently and drying it with a paper towel.
- In a mixing bowl, gently toss the tofu squares, drizzle vegetable oil, and season ingredients, including black pepper, salt, and soy sauce (optional). Mix the mixture well so that all tofu surfaces are evenly coated with the oil and seasoning.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch over the tofu and toss the tofu until the cornstarch covers the tofu surfaces adequately.
- Grab the oven tray and line a baking sheet or parchment paper on top of the tray. You can brush some vegetable oil on the baking sheet to prevent the tofu from sticking to the tray liner. Arrange the coated tofu onto the prepared baking sheet and bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes (turn it halfway to prevent uneven cooking), baking until it is crispy and golden colored.
- While waiting for the tofu to be fully baked, prepare the chili and salt mix or “Bumbu Cabe Garam.’
- In a pan, heat the vegetable oil. When the oil gets hot, fry the minced garlic, chili, red onion, and green onion until aromatic and a little brown in colour. Add salt, sugar, black pepper, and other seasonings to the mixture and stir well until combined.
- Add the baked tofu to the mixture and stir until the tofu is fully coated with the spicy and salty seasoning mix.
- Enjoy with warm steamed rice and freshly cut English cucumber!
