Carole Food.

Roasting the tofu may take a little bit of time, but I promise it’s worth it! You end up with little crunchy nuggets that keep their texture really well when coated in the sauce. This recipe is a play on the classic thai dish, called pad kra pao gai, but here we have the vegan version!

I love the aromatic and slightly aniseed flavour of Thai basil, it’s really one of my favourite ingredients to use! This recipe is also great with very thinly sliced green beans, just fry them first, before you add the garlic. 

What ingredients do you need for this dish (includes possible substitutions)? 

Tofu: I like to use extra firm tofu, but make sure you remove as much excess moisture as you can! I usually squeeze it between a clean tea towel a couple of times. 

Thai basil: provides the key aromatic flavour to this dish.

Garlic: there’s not many ingredients in this dish so garlic is important! Add as much as your heart desires! 

Chilli: birds eye chillies are best here, but you can use whatever you have.

Dark and light soy sauce: both are important in this recipe.

Sugar: can be substituted with honey or your favourite sweetener. 

Cornflour: makes the sauce thick, can’t be substituted with normal flour!

What to serve this with? 

This is perfect with white rice. 

Instructions 

Prepare the tofu 

Preheat the oven to 220c/200c fan. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Drain the tofu from the package and dry it as best you can! I like to use a clean tea towel to squeeze the moisture out. Then, crumble the tofu into tiny pieces. Place the tofu on the baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. 

Prepare the rest of the ingredients 

For the thai basil, remove the leaves from the stem and chop the stems very finely. Then, roughly chop the leaves. Finely chop the garlic and the chilli. 

Fry the aromatics 

In a medium sized frying pan over a low-medium heat add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Once the pan is hot, add the chopped garlic, chilli and thai basil stems. Cook until golden, about 2 minutes. 

Make the sauce 

Add the tofu back into the pan. Then add the soy sauces, sugar and cornflour mixed with water. Increase the heat to medium. Cook until thickened and stir constantly. It should take a couple of minutes. Stir in the thai basil leaves, and that’s it!