Please all of your guests with this sweet and savory appetizer made with tofu, coconut, and pineapple.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, applicable links and substitutions.
Prep the pineapple slices by sprinkling one side with a little sugar (if desired). Place under broiler until sugar has melted and the edges of slices start to brown. Remove from broiler, cut into 1" pieces (will serve as base for the tofu pieces). Transfer to a bowl with the sweet chile sauce. Toss to coat. Set in the refrigerator to cool.
In a large bowl combine the coconut, cornstarch and sea salt. Add about half of the tofu, gently toss to coat, pressing the coconut onto the tofu surfaces.
Pour about 1/2" of oil into a frying skillet. Heat up the frying oil.
When hot, add the tofu pieces in small batches. Fry about 1 minute or until coconut is light brown. Flip and fry another minute or two. Be careful not to over fry as the tofu will dry out and become tough. Remove from oil and place on a paper sack or paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining tofu.
Assemble the bites by placing a piece of tofu on top of a piece of pineapple and join with a toothpick, or you can place the tofu on a hot platter and the pineapple on a cold platter and let your guest do the assembling. See the writeup below the recipe for a great serving platter that provides for cold and hot ingredients.
You can pour a little more of the sweet chile sauce in a small bowl for extra dipping if you choose. One can never get too much chile sauce.
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce – Use commerical Thai chili sauce or make your own, using the link provided. It takes less than 15 minutes and some common pantry items to make your own.
Zesty Lime Sea Salt – A fabulous sea salt, but if you don’t have it, use regular fine ground sea salt then squeeze a little lime over the tofu before serving.
Make it a meal – Instead of cutting up the tofu and the pineapple into bite-sized pieces, cut the tofu into 1/2″ slices. Coat and fry the slices, then place on top of the slices of broiled pineapple. Pour some of the sweet chile sauce on top. Serve with a simple cucumber salad for a complete meal.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen