Soy Bombs With Chinese Style BBQ Sauce

I first tried these Soy Bombs with Chinese Style BBQ Sauce at the second bloggers banquet. They were made by Cindy from Where's The Beef?. They were a huge hit at the banquet, and I really liked them. Cindy gave me a link to the Soy Bombs and the Chinese Style BBQ Sauce. I decided to make them spontaneously one night as I really wanted to eat them again. I had most of the ingredients but needed to pop out to the supermarket to grab a final few.

The soy bombs and sauce are very easy to make. The sauce does require quite a few ingredients, but the flavour of it is fantastic. It can be eaten with a lot of things. The sauce blends so well with the soy bombs that the bombs just don't taste quite as good without the sauce.



Soy Bombs

500g extra firm tofu
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce (less if your peanut butter includes salt)
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
fresh basil, roughly chopped/ripped (or another herb of your choice)
~1/2 cup plain flour
~1/3 cup vegetable oil

Crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Add the onion, soy sauce, peanut butter, breadcrumbs and basil; combine thoroughly. Roll the mixture into balls about 3cm in diameter and lightly coat them in flour.

Pour vege oil into a non-stick frypan so that it's about 2mm deep. Heat the oil until not quite smoking and add a tofu ball - it should sizzle in the oil. Once it does begin to sizzle, add more balls to the pan, turning them after a minute or two to develop an even crust. When they're done, transfer to absorbent paper and continue with the remaining balls.

Chinese Style Barbeque Sauce
makes about a cup

In a bowl, combine:

1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup apple juice
1-2 teaspoons chilli paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder.
Taste, and adjust the flavour balance to your liking. Store leftovers in the fridge.