Hana's tofu balls

Breakfast: Home-made granola with blueberries

Lunch: Couscous salad with yogurt and mint dressing

Dinner: Hana’s tofu balls with spicy wedges

We all need comfort foods sometimes, and as Putin was killing himself with exams this week, I figured now was the time to crack out these bad boys. And potatoes; the Ukrainians love those potatoes.

For this recipe I have to thank my lovely Czech friend Hana. I worked on Hana’s sustainable farm for a week in the mountains of Perak in Malaysia and day in, day out, amid the breathtaking scenery and the crazy antics, she fed me a variety of fantastic foods, accommodating my vegetarianism and getting me addicted to a chocolate cake that will appear on here one day soon. I also got obsessed with these, and willingly imported the recipe back home. Hooray for Hana!

You’ll need:

            300g firm tofu, grated 

            4 cloves garlic, grated / crushed

            1 carrot or a handful of cabbage, both grated

            2 eggs

            about 3 slices of bread turned into breadcrumbs

            soy sauce

            juice of 1/2 a lime

            oil of your choice

Method:

            Mix all the grated ingredients together in a bowl

            Beat the eggs and pour just over half into the grated mix

            Add a splash of soy sauce and the lime juice

            Put the egg in a small bowl and the breadcrumbs on a plate

Grab enough mixture to form a small ball and squeeze it tightly in your hand. Liquid should come out and the mixture should stay together. If not, it is either too dry or too wet; add more egg or some breadcrumbs accordingly.

If it seems a good consistency, roll the mixture into a small ball

Roll the ball in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Ensure it is covered

Set aside on a plate

Continue forming the balls and covering them until all the mixture is used up

If possible, put the formed balls into the fridge for an hour or more. This will encourage them to stay together when cooked.

When ready, heat a few centimeters of oil in a pan

When the oil is hot (but not too hot – be careful as spitting oil stings like a bitch!) place a few balls into it – as many as you can without them touching

Keep turning them until all sides are golden brown and crispy

To minimize the residual oil, hang in a strainer for a minute or place between 2 sheets of kitchen paper

Serve up with your chosen side and some dips; home-made hummus and sweet chili sauce are great!

Yes, these are deep fried, but these are the only things that I do deep fry; as I said before, everything in moderation. I’d be much more worried about my cake intake than the odd deep-fried tofu ball, to be honest.

If it bothers you though, you can shallow fry them, but it takes longer to get them cooked through and they tend to fall apart a bit more.

This goes fantastically with a fresh salad or some roasted vegetables, or a fantastic spinach dish.