Black pepper tofu from Plenty (page 44) by Yotam Ottolenghi

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Ingredients

black peppercorns
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caster sugar
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Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

pixie_brsj1p on May 29, 2026

Delicious recipe, so much flavour
JLINN321 on March 18, 2026

On the recommendation of previous people who made this dish I cut down on the black pepper and red peppers (mine were spicy). I also used low sodium tamari and cut the sweet soy sauce down by 1 tablespoon. Used avocado oil instead of butter to make it vegan. I added asparagus to the dish and served it over rice.
helen_o71x3v on February 09, 2026

Yes but use less pepper
nlehrer on January 23, 2026

I was skeptical at the quantities (so much pepper?? TThe shallots?? The garlic??) but decided to go along with it, other than doing half butter half oil instead of full butter. Was delicious, and I added some brussel sprouts while I was frying the tofu. Would probably use 1/2-2/3 the amount of pepper next time, and less coarse of a grind. Decided to be rustic and whimsical and leave the roots on the green onions, but the family was not pleased.
vegabond2016 on July 02, 2025

Delicious. However, I will follow other users' suggestions next time and use less black pepper and/or chili; it was a bit spicy for me.
prkrgrant on February 16, 2025

A slap across the face with flavor. We keep the pepper as written but lay off the veg quite a bit. Especially if not served with rice, it's a lot of shallot and peppers in the recipe as called for.
christineakiyoshi on December 26, 2024

This calls for a lot of black peppercorns! I liked it very much but would be good paired with another veggie dish. 4 stars.
Mascher on May 01, 2024

Like many others we find this s much better when you cut the amount of black peppercorns in half. This is one of my husband’s favorites.
sbackman on March 11, 2024

Good but backed off considerably on the red chilies. Probably won’t make this one again.
pengdonna on February 04, 2024

Very rich dish so each person's portion will need to be small and not a recurring every day dish
rhb on January 22, 2023

Fantastic dish! I fried the tofu in batches in a 3-quart pot and made the rest in a large skillet at the same time. I used less oil this way and it was quicker. 3 T peppercorns were enough for us.
emusro on January 03, 2023

Reduced the pepper significantly to around ~2 tbsp, and it was plenty peppery. Used a jalapeno instead of a red chile as that's what I had. Very tasty! I'm curious to try reducing the amount of butter next time.
sonyarr on November 25, 2022

Very good! The full amount of pepper was too spicy, reduced by half and also used way less butter. Still excellent.
lorloff on May 22, 2022

This was great. Made this with Maruso Taiwanese black bean soy sauce which worked great. Since their is a dairy allergy in the house I liked the idea of using flavorful peanut oil instead of butter and it was great. My only suggestion is that next time I will grind the pepper more thoroughly rather than just crushing it. We like spicy but also reduced the amounts of chiles. I agree this is highly recommended and the approach to to tofu would work great with other sauces as well.
Apepin on April 19, 2022

This is the best way I've ever cooked tofu. Next time I will add some kind of green veg, green beans maybe, too coat with the sauce. We loved the intense black pepper flavor. I didn't use all the butter and didn't miss it. I also used fewer chilis and it was plenty spicy. I didn't even try to feed this to the kids.
Lnbrittain on January 09, 2022

Divine. And I reduced the pepper and chiles to match my husband and my taste. I was surprised at how mild the black pepper was in the dish, but I used a small fraction, coarsely crushed. Used the regular low sodium soy sauce that I have and reduced the butter by half, replacing some with olive oil.
DePollepel on August 27, 2021

use less chili peppers, was a bit too hot
Ganga108 on August 18, 2021

Nice. Uses a lot of oil. But I prefer simply deep fried tofu sprinkled with salt. There is a point half way through this recipe that would be good without the rest.
chezmaryb on February 13, 2021

Completely forgot the butter and that was fine. I used one Fresno chili because I'm a wimp and it was still spicy with all the pepper
annettle on January 13, 2021

This recipe deserves its fame - it's wonderful. I've made it several times now, and regularly get requests for another round. I reduce the butter and black pepper by 1/3rd and it's still rich and spicy. I've also made it with cubes of chicken (cooked exactly the same way as the tofu) for non-vegetarian family members and they report that is excellent too.
MarciK on July 22, 2020

I couldn’t find an acceptable sweet soy sauce, so I reduced light soy sauce, brown sugar, and an anise pod. I also ran out of corn starch so half the tofu was coated in flour instead. It seemed those in the flour didn’t brown as well, but in the end I couldn’t tell the difference. The grocery store has spicier peppers, so I used just 1 (for a half batch). The final product was better than any Chinese dish I’ve had in any Chinese restaurant, although a little more work than driving to the restaurant and ordering. I’d make this dish if I want a casual dinner with friends and wanted to impress. Non-tofu lovers could be converted.
aargle on June 10, 2020

This was really good despite the chilies I used being too hot. I also halved the butter but I do think using the full amount would produce a superior result however I just can’t bring myself to do that. I added some steamed bok choy towards the end which worked really well.
meginyeg on February 01, 2020

Loved the tofu and the flavours. It was a bit too peppery for us so I will decrease the amount next time. Definitely will make again.
StephEpices on August 10, 2019

I didn't have tofu so used paneer and it I liked it a lot. I would reduce the pepper a touch next time for my family.
sarahkalsbeek on July 14, 2018

Made this with about 8 T butter instead of full amount, and fewer chiles and pepper and it was still amazing!
VineTomato on June 10, 2017

Brilliant recipe. If you are not convinced by tofu, try this.
Bloominanglophile on July 09, 2016

My daughter and I loved this dish, but my husband didn't dig the amount of pepper in the recipe--might take it down to 3 Tbsp. next time I make it.
Zosia on April 16, 2016

Even made with half the chiles and pepper, this is a fiery hot dish and I felt that the lovely caramel flavours of the sauce were overwhelmed by the level of heat. Like some others, I replaced all of the butter with just a few tbsp of oil.
Alfazed on August 09, 2015

Extremely good! Recipe calls for a stupefying amount of butter; sadly it was not as good with less. Something about the fat coating the tongue makes the pepper really work, so I am working on other replacements for butter. I like to add eggplant (cooked like the tofu in a little corn starch), and red bell peppers for color.
Barb_N on August 21, 2014

The technique for tossing the tofu in cornstarch (cornflour) before sautéing changed my life- it is the only way I do it now. That said I much prefer other sauces to this pepper which is admittedly not my thing.
MaryCunningham86 on April 26, 2014

My favourite tofu recipe, and one I cook again and again. I love how spicy it is, and leaving the peppercorns slightly coarse gives the sauce a nice texture. Like other notes, I use nowhere near the amount of butter specified in the recipe, and add a little peanut oil. I also lightly steam vegetables (broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, snow peas, cabbage - whatever I have really) and add that at the end along with the tofu.
TrishaCP on June 27, 2013

This was pretty great. I halved the recipe, and used 2 Fresno peppers, de-seeded as the chiles, and the recipe could have used a tad bit more heat. I finely ground my pepper and that worked for us. I also skipped the butter for much less peanut oil for the aromatics, with just about a teaspoon at the end for some flavor. Since I've been obsessed with Malaysian food and therefore cooking a lot of it, I actually had all of the soy sauces on hand and they did contribute a wonderful depth of flavor to the sauce. (Sounds like from others that the dish works without them though.) Finally, maybe the best part of the dish was the wonderful pieces of garlic, which basically caramelize and get really sweet and tasty.
chawkins on April 02, 2013

Excellent with significantly reduced amount of butter. I halved the recipe, and used the specified amount for everything with the exception of the butter and the fresh red chiles. Instead of the suggested 5 1/2 tablespoon of butter, I only used 1 tbs and in place of the 4 mild fresh red chiles, I used two very hot dried ones, would have been better if I only used one. Surprisingly, deep frying the corn starch dusted tofu cubes did not produce a lot of splatter
oddkitchen on January 18, 2013

I made this with about 5 Tbsp olive oil instead of the called-for 11 Tbsp butter and thought it was fine. If you don't have light or sweet soy, don't sub with regular "dark" -- the saltiness will be unpalatable.
meggan on April 04, 2012

This recipe is unbelievably good. It is pretty peppery but you can always reduce the amount. The cornstarch fried tofu has a lot of other applications too.