Gluten-free Bang Bang Tofu
Photography by Simeon Crofts
RECIPE: Vegan, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Nut-free
With origins in China, Bang Bang first found food fame on the streets of Sichuan, where it was traditionally served as a sauce with a steaming bowl of chicken. Thought to have gleaned its name from the pounding – or ‘bang bang’ – the chicken received before being cooked, a process that softens the meat, better allowing it to absorb the pungent sauce, the spicy condiment has gone on to have somewhat of a renaissance in recent years.
Authentic Chinese bang bang sauce usually contains vinegar, chilli oil, toasted sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn and is poured over pieces of steamed chicken sold by the piece. Today, a simple Google search will bring up a heavily Westernised version with a mayo base and ingredients far removed from the chicken of old Chengdu city. Nowadays, the most popular way to make the dish is to bread and deep fry the chicken with bang bang sauce served cold on the side – a take on the recipe thought to have derived from a Florida-based seafood restaurant.
So, I had a dilemma: do I try and recreate a vegan and gluten-free dish using conventional means, or do I put my own spin on the version the whole internet is going crazy for? Well, as we are all about creating the most delicious dish that is free from allergens but in no way free from flavour, I decided the Westernised recipe would bring a great texture to sometimes-bland tofu and be a little less time intensive while still having bags of flavour.
With the decision made, I developed and tested A LOT of sauce batches! I wanted a real umami taste with deep savoury flavours, a chilli pop, and a subtle sweetness. I found many of the existing recipes to be heavy on sweet chilli, and most include rice vinegar. When developing my sauce, I found the sweet chilli very quickly overpowered and created more of a syrupy-sweet taste. At the same time, the vinegar's sharpness caused a lot of puckered faces among my taste testers! In the end, I was thrilled to find a balance I think is perfect for spice-lovers like me and is only three ingredients!
It really couldn’t be easier to make this dish, and it requires minimal cooking effort as it’s served with cold veggies, which work so well with the spicy sauce and warm tofu! If it’s a bit too hot for your taste, you can absolutely reduce the sriracha and/or increase the vegan mayo quantity. Add a little at a time and taste away until you’re happy. Enjoy!
Gluten-free Bang Bang Tofu
Ingredients
- 400g hard or extra-firm tofu
- 1 cup gluten-free panko-style breadcrumbs
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- Pinch of salt
- Good grind of black pepper
- 1/3 cup cornflour
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 3 tbsp sriracha
- Black & white sesame seeds
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup edamame beans
- 4-5 spring onions, sliced
- 2 green chillies, sliced
- Coriander
- Jasmine rice
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/400°F/Gas Mark 6 and line two baking trays with parchment paper or foil.
- First, pat the tofu dry with paper towel, then slice.
- Next, mix the crumb ingredients together in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, prepare the cornflour slurry by mixing the two ingredients until combined. It should have the consistency of a thin batter.
- Dredge each piece of tofu in the cornflour mix, then roll in the crumb until well coated. Place on your prepared baking trays.
- Bake the tofu for 12 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 12 minutes.
- While your tofu is baking, put your rice on to cook and prepare the veggies.
- Finally, mix the ingredients for the bang bang sauce.
- Once the tofu is cooked, you can either pour the sauce over the top, dredge each piece (what I do) or have it as a dipping sauce on the side.
- Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and plate the tofu up with the rice, veggies, and a generous helping of fresh coriander.