Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Scallions (Đậu Rán Tẩm Hành)

Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Scallions (Đậu rán tẩm hành) is a rustic Northern Vietnamese dish, featuring crispy fried tofu dipped in scallion fish sauce mixture. It is a tasty side dish or even main dish you can make in just 20 minutes.

Fried tofu with scallions (đậu rán tẩm hành) is in the daily meal rotation of a lot of Northerners. As it requires just 20 minutes and 5 ingredients, busy families love it. We grew up with this dish in addition to all the traditional Vietnamese dishes such as thịt kho tàu and cá kho.

In this recipe, tofu pieces are fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Dipped in a savory scallion fish sauce mixture, and they will turn from boring into flavorful tofu. I can eat đậu rán tẩm hành on its own or with rice. Really love how little effort it requires to cook!

Recipe Video

Watch how quick and easy to make this classic Northern Vietnamese dish in the video below. 

Notes for Frying Tofu

Some people like to put heavy objects on tofu block for 10 minutes or so to drain out excess water before frying. I think it kinda depends on the tofu brand. The tofu I use doesn’t need this step, but you may want to do it if your stove is not powerful and your tofu seems to have a lot of excess water.

To get my fried tofu crispy with the inside still soft, I like to use a deep fry pan with a lot of hot oil. That helps the tofu turn golden and crispy really quickly while keeping the inside soft. I also feel like when using a lot of hot oil to fry tofu, there will be less oil splattering.

Putting the Dish Together

Once you finish frying the tofu, drizzle some of the hot oil immediately over scallions slices. This extra step reduces the rawness of scallions while bringing out its fragrance. 

After that, add the scallions to the mixture of fish sauce and hot broth (or water but it will be a lot more delicious if you use broth). Dip the tofu pieces into the sauce for a few seconds. Make sure you do this step while the tofu is still hot so that it can soak up the flavors from the sauce.

⭐️ I’d love to hear what you think about the dish, so please feel free to leave a comment and a rating if you have tried it. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.

Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Scallions (Đậu rán tẩm hành)

Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Scallions (Đậu tẩm hành) is a rustic Northern Vietnamese dish, featuring crispy fried tofu dipped in scallion fish sauce mixture. It is a tasty side dish or even main dish you can make in just 20 minutes.

Author: Sophie Pham

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

US Customary – Grams

• 1 lb tofu (medium-firm to firm)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 5 tablespoons hot pork or chicken broth, or hot water
• 3 tablespoons thinly-sliced scallions, green parts (about 3-4 stalks)
• cooking oil

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Instructions

 

• Pat dry tofu and cut into 1-inch thick slices.
• Heat a generous amount of oil in a deep fry pan over medium to medium-high heat (adjust heat as needed). Once the oil is hot, add tofu slices and let them cook until the bottom is golden, about 2-3 minutes.
• Flip the tofu slices and cook the other side until it is also golden, another 2 minutes or so. Transfer tofu to a plate lined with paper towel.
• Place scallion slices in a bowl, and drizzle 2-3 teaspoons of hot oil that you just used to fry the tofu over the scallions to partially cook them.
• In a bowl, combine fish sauce with hot broth (or water). You can also heat the mixture by using your microwave. Taste and adjust to your liking. Scoop out the scallion slices (leaving the oil behind), and put into the mixture. Give it a stir.
• Dip each tofu slice which is still very hot into the scallion fish sauce mixture for 5-6 seconds, then place them on a serving plate.
• You can drizzle some of the sauce over the tofu slices on a serving plate, then dividing the remaining sauce into small dipping bowls for each person.

Video

Notes

If your stove is not powerful and your tofu seems to have a lot of excess water, you may want to put heavy objects on tofu block for 10 minutes or so to drain out excess water before frying.

Taste the fish sauce and broth/water mixture and adjust to your liking. You can add a pinch of sugar if you want, or add some black pepper or a few slices of bird’s eye chili.

Make sure you dip the tofu slices into the dipping sauce while the tofu is still hot, otherwise it will be difficult to soak up flavors.

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1477mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 298mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Appetizers and Side dishes, Main Dish

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: fried tofu with scallions, vietnamese fried tofu

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