Black Pepper Tofu

Description
This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's vegetarian cookbook "Plenty". It was published in guardian.co.uk
 * Serves four.

Ingredients

 * 800 g firm tofu
 * vegetable oil, for frying
 * cornflour, for dusting the tofu
 * 150 g butter
 * 12 shallots (350g), thinly sliced
 * 8 mild red chillies, thinly sliced
 * 12 garlic cloves, crushed
 * 3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
 * 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
 * 3 tbsp light soy sauce (shoyu)
 * 4 tsp dark soy sauce (tamari)
 * 2 tbsp caster sugar
 * 5 tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed (use a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder)
 * 16 small, thin spring onions, cut into 3cm segments

Directions

 * 1) Start with the tofu.
 * 2) Pour enough oil into a large frying pan or wok to come 5mm up the sides; heat up.
 * 3) Meanwhile, cut the tofu into large cubes, about 3cm x 2cm, toss them in cornflour and shake off any excess.
 * 4) Add the tofu to the hot oil in batches (so it doesn't stew) and fry, turning it around as you go, until golden all over and with a thin crust.
 * 5) As each batch is cooked, transfer the tofu pieces to kitchen paper.
 * 6) Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan, then add the butter.
 * 7) Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté on a low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients have turned shiny and are totally soft.
 * 8) Next, add the soy sauces and sugar, stir, then add the crushed black pepper.
 * 9) Add the tofu to warm it up in the sauce for about a minute, stir in the spring onions and serve hot, with steamed rice.