Crispy Tofu Katsu with Sticky Rice

Ingredients

• 600g firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 60g plain flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 20g fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 tsp medium curry powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 200ml coconut milk
• 150ml vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 320g sushi rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 400ml cold water
• 250g tenderstem broccoli, trimmed
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 60g pickled ginger, to serve
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to serve
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal, to serve
• small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked, to serve
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Tip the rinsed sushi rice and cold water into a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to the boil, then drop the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 12 minutes until the water is fully absorbed. Pull off the heat and leave to steam, lid on, for 10 minutes — don't lift the lid, that's where the fluff comes from.
2. Meanwhile, make the katsu sauce. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion with a good pinch of salt for 5–6 minutes until softened and lightly golden at the edges.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — don't let the garlic burn or the whole sauce turns bitter.
4. Tip in the curry powder and turmeric and bloom the spices in the oil for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and a shade darker. Raw curry powder tastes dusty; bloomed, it tastes of itself.
5. Pour in the coconut milk, stock, soy sauce and honey. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon — the coconut and stock together break the spices down into something glossy. Taste, season, taste again — most of the salt comes from the soy, but a final pinch ties it together. Keep warm on a low heat.
6. While the sauce simmers, press the tofu dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crust — then cut into 8 even slabs. Set up a breading station: seasoned flour (salt and pepper through it) in one shallow bowl, beaten egg in a second, panko in a third.
7. Dust each tofu slab in flour, dip in egg, then press firmly into the panko so every side is fully coated in a thick, craggy crust. Press, don't sprinkle — the crust you build now is the crust you eat.
8. Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Fry the tofu in two batches in a single layer — crowd the pan and the panko goes pale and oily instead of crisp — for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden and shatteringly crisp. Transfer to a wire rack, not kitchen paper, so the crust stays crunchy.
9. Wipe out the pan, add the sesame oil and cook the tenderstem over a high heat for 3–4 minutes, turning occasionally, until charred at the edges and just tender. Season well with salt.
10. Divide the sticky rice between four bowls and arrange the crispy tofu alongside the charred tenderstem. Spoon the warm katsu sauce generously over the tofu so it pools around the rice. Scatter over the spring onions, toasted sesame seeds, pickled ginger and torn coriander leaves, and squeeze a lime wedge over each bowl — the acid cuts straight through the coconut richness.