Tofu katsu curry with sticky rice

Golden panko-crusted tofu with a smooth, sweet Japanese-style curry sauce and a mound of rice. Even confirmed meat-eaters fight over the crispy bits.

Ingredients

• 560 g Firm tofu, 2 blocks
• 80 g Plain flour, 60g for the batter, 20g for the sauce
• 100 g Panko breadcrumbs
• 100 ml Vegetable oil, most of it for shallow frying
• 2 g Salt
• 1 Onions, chopped
• 150 g Carrots, chopped
• 0.2 Garlic, 3 cloves, crushed
• 10 g Fresh ginger, grated
• 15 g Mild curry powder
• 1 Vegetable stock cubes, made up to 500ml
• 15 ml Soy sauce
• 15 ml Maple syrup
• 300 g Jasmine rice
• 0.5 Cucumber, cut into sticks
• 2 Spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Wrap the tofu blocks in a clean tea towel and put something heavy on top, like a chopping board with a few tins. Pressing out the water makes it firmer and crisper.
2. Soften the onion and carrot in 15ml of the oil for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and stir for a minute, then 20g of the flour. Gradually stir in the stock, then the soy sauce and maple syrup. Simmer, stirring now and then, until the carrots are soft. Blend until smooth and keep warm.
3. Rinse the rice, put it in a pan with 450ml water, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat. Turn off and leave covered to steam until you need it.
4. Cut each block of tofu into 4 slabs. Whisk the remaining 60g flour with about 80ml cold water and the salt to make a smooth batter like double cream. Dip each slab in the batter, then press into the panko on both sides.
5. Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the tofu in batches for about 3 minutes each side until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
6. Slice the katsu, lay it over the rice and pour the curry sauce alongside. Finish with spring onions and cucumber sticks.