Hey, thanks for coming back for Part 3 of the Cantonese-inspired sliders series! Hope you liked the first two as much as I enjoyed making them. The weather has been incredible here in New York, and it just puts everyone in such good mood. Every Saturday, I like walking through the Brooklyn Flea at Fort Greene where I buy my food photography props sometimes. And of course, I'd have to pick up a doughnut (or two) from Dough! Sorry I didn't take a picture of the Chocolate Salted Caramel doughnut. My hands were too busy shoving that deliciousness in my face. If you don't live in Brooklyn, and have not had the pleasure of tasting Dough before, then keep your eye out because they are opening up a new shop near Union Square soon!
Anyway, sorry for side-tracking. Let's talk about these Char Siu Tofu Sliders!
I thought meatless sliders were needed as part of the sliders series to balance out the richness of the other ones. And I thought about seasoning with five spice, but then I took it to another level and went with char siu seasoning instead because it just can't get anymore Cantonese than that! Do you remember I made this Char Siu Pulled Pork a while back?
And to add some crunch to the bite, I topped the marinated tofu with some wonton crunchies which were simply made by fried wonton wrappers. How cool is that!?
So there you have it. Char Siu Tofu Sliders. Sweet and savory, soft and crunchy. Enjoy!
Check out more of the Cantonese-inspired sliders series:
Sweet and Sour Chicken Sliders
Black Pepper Beef Sliders
Soy-glazed Black Pepper Chicken
Prep time: 2 hrs Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Serves: 6 sliders
You'll need:
- 1 lb (1 block) firm tofu
- 6 Martin's “sliced potato rolls”
- ½ cup cilantro
Char siu sauce:
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup maltose
- 3 tbsp Chinese rose wine (or shaoxing rice wine)
- ¾ tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp salt
Wonton crunchies:
- 12 wonton wrappers
- 2 cups canola oil
Approach:
- Lay tofu on a paper towel-lined plate (or a kitchen towel). Gently press tofu to get rid of some of the excess water. More paper towels might be needed. Cut tofu into 6, ½" thick, slices.
- In a sauce pan on very low heat, mix sauce ingredients together (so the maltose will melt and be incorporated into the sauce). Let cool when sauce is well-combine.
- Lay tofu slices on a baking dish, and pour sauce into it. Use your hands to gently flip tofu a few times so every piece gets a good marinate coverage. Refrigerate for 2 hours (up to overnight). Flip tofu once about half way through.
- While the tofu is being marinated, let's make some wonton crunchies. Heat 2 cups of oil in a small sauce pan. Once oil has reached 325°F, carefully lay down the thin wonton wrapper. Fry each side for no longer than 4 seconds. Let fried wonton wrappers cool on a paper towel-lined plate. Once they have cooled down, gently crush them into crunchies.
- 15 minutes before you‘re ready to cook the tofu, remove it from the fridge and let it return to room temperature.
- Using a skillet or sauté pan, on medium heat, sear each side of the tofu for one minute (leaving the extra char siu sauce in the baking dish). After all the tofu slices are seared, pour the remaining sauce into the pan.
- Toast 6 buns in the toaster oven (butter lightly if you like).
- To assemble, lay a tofu slice on the bun, top with sauce, wonton crunchies, and some fresh cilantro.
- Serve immediately.