Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Indonesian Cirebon Tahu Gejrot
印尼井里汶酸辣豆腐 Tahu Gejrot
Recipe overview
Cirebon tahu gejrot pairs hollow fried tofu with a thin palm-sugar and tamarind sauce and coarsely pounded chilli aromatics.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 300 g fried hollow tofu
- 8 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4, adjust to taste bird eye chillies
Sauce seasoning
- 75 g palm sugar
- 300 ml water
- 2 tsp tamarind extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
Cooking oil
- 2 tbsp if reheating tofu vegetable oil
02
Tools
- knife
- cutting board
- small saucepan
- spoon
- fine sieve
- mortar and pestle
- frying pan
- bowls
03
Steps
Step 1
Cut tofu
Cut fried hollow tofu into roughly 2 cm pieces, retaining its hollow centre.
Step 2
Cut shallots
Peel and roughly chop shallots for pounding.
Step 3
Prepare chilli
Peel garlic and wash chillies; adjust quantity to the household.
Step 4
Measure sugar water
Put palm sugar and water in a small saucepan.
Step 5
Dissolve sugar
Simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves completely.
Step 6
Add tamarind
Stir in tamarind extract and half a teaspoon salt.
Step 7
Strain sauce
Strain out tamarind solids and keep the thin sauce warm.
Step 8
Pound garlic
Crush garlic in a mortar, then add shallots.
Step 9
Pound chillies
Add chillies and crush coarsely, leaving visible pieces.
Step 10
Mix sweet soy
Stir sweet soy sauce into the crushed aromatics.
Step 11
Warm tofu
If cold, briefly pan-fry tofu with a little oil until hot; put in bowls.
Step 12
Pour and serve
Press tofu lightly open, pour over sweet-sour sauce and chilli mixture; eat at once.
Common mistakes
- Serving cold greasy tofu
- Reducing the sauce to thick syrup
- Pureeing chilli and shallots smooth
Tips
Sauce stays thin so tofu absorbs it; add pounded chillies to each bowl according to taste.
