Fried tokwa (firm tofu)
How do you make sure that the tofu does not stick to the pan? Simple. Use a non-stick pan. 
Kidding, kidding. I lived without a non-stick pan all my non-married life and my tofu never stuck to the bottom of the frying pan. Here’s how.
1) You need lots of oil because the tofu has to float in oil. Even if you’re using non-stick pan, it’s still wiser to use lots of oil to ensure even browning. And you do have to turn them over for even browning even if they are already floating in oil.
2) Heat the frying pan before adding the cooking oil. To test if the pan is hot enough, sprinkle some water and if the droplets dance around before they sizzle and evaporate, you’ve got a hot frying pan. You can now pour in the cooking oil.
3) Make sure that the cooking oil is hot before adding the tofu. Otherwise, the tofu will just soak in the oil while waiting for it to get hot enough to allow the surface to brown. How hot is hot enough? Normally, with the heat on the highest setting, I allow the oil to reach the smoking point. Then, I lower the heat to medium and allow the oil to cool for about 30 seconds. Then, I add the tofu and turn the heat to high again. I know it sounds weird but it works for me. Too hot and the tofu browns too fast. I like mine golden — fully sealed but still a shade of light brown.
4) Don’t crowd the pan. Never crowd the pan. The temperature of the oil will drop too fast if you add too many tofu pieces at the same time. It will be as though you never allowed the oil to reach its smoking point at all.
Do you cut the tofu into slices or do you cut them into small squares before frying? Well, that’s a matter of personal preference, I think. My father sliced the tofu and fried them like that. Then, he cut them into squares after frying. Me, I like to cut them into squares before frying because I like to have all sides nicely and uniformly browned.
But there’s another angle to the sliced-or-cubed dilemma. If you intend to eat the fried tofu with a dipping sauce, they will catch more sauce if they have been cut after frying because the still-white parts will easily absorb the sauce. But if you add them to a stir fried dish — exposing them to tossing and stirring — they are more likely to fall apart. Cutting into cubes before frying under the circumstances sounds like a better idea.
And that ends my tokwa-frying entry. 
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I fried mine like yours, and my dipping sauce is a mixture of Japanese Cooking Wine (Kirim?), chili sauce, toasted garlic, and onion sprigs. My husband liked it better with chopped chinese coriander & scallions (either in the sauce or in the tofu serving itself (and of course salt). Its sarap, sarap, not too vinegarry taste and its good for you.
I usually make “tokwa’t baboy” with onions and spicy vinegar and I also slice them before frying. Perfect as a side dish or paired with ice cold beer as pulutan. Sa mga taga-Marikina, this is a perfect match for “goto”.
i was wondering, if you use a lot of oil for frying, what do you do with the remaining used oil? i try to avoid food that would need deep frying because i don’t want to have to deal with the used oil afterwards. sometimes when it’s reused the taste of whatever was fried in it previously is still there.
ah that is mouth-watering, brenda.
mom of 4 1/2, you cool the oil and keep it in a jar for use another time. the only used oil i don’t like recycling is oil that had been used for frying fish. but even that can be re-used if you use ginger to remove the fishy taste and smell. ahhh, that is good for another food tip entry.
Nice entry Connie.
I’m curious though about how they make Tofu-steak (apparently made with silken tofu), so if you have any ideas, do share them. :p
Hi,
A week ago, the mothers/food enthusiasts in our office were arguing on what was the difference between tofu and tokwa. I kept on insisting that there was none.
Then we were also asking each other how to fry tofu without having them fall into shreds. So, I hope it’s ok that I printed your article and have them read it.
Thanks, Ms. Connie.
Jon, I have a very good idea. Just too chicken to try. hehehe Soon…
Soloops, I have a printer-friendly version of every entry now.
paborito ko tokwa!
snack ko yan madalas.
hiwain ko lang in cubes tapos deep-fry na.
pagkaluto, sprinkle lang konting salt kung di ka na mag-sauce.
pero kung gusto mo ng dipping sauce, sawsawan ko lang yun light soy na may hiniwang sili!pero masarap rin yan sa soup.
sa chinese restaurant kasi pag umorder ka ng piniritong tokwa, may kasamang sabaw! pantulak lang siguro!
I use medium hard tofu or tokwa in tagalog, washed and cut to about 1/2 inch thick (no cubed tofu for this guy – unless its added to a dish). Deep fry it in new peanut or corn oil together with 3 to 4 cloves of thinly sliced fresh garlic until golden brown. The garlic will give flavor to the tofu. As a condiment to the fried tokwa, try sliced firm tomatoes and onions with choped habanero chili and a dash of patis bagoong from Lingayen Pangasinan(can be found in Asian stores here in the US, its about triple the cost of regular patis… but its worth it!). The fried garlic can also be eaten with the tokwa. The extra oil can be used for cooking again ’cause tofu don’t leave any unpleasant taste.
I am presently producing tokwa, and was wanting to find, too, the difference between tofu and tokwa, like anybody else. This is because of a research article stating that for optimal beneficial effect of isoflavones, found in soy bean and soy bean product like tofu, which is even a better substitute for estrogen that diminishes as women ages, one has to take 50 to 90 mg. of isoflavones per day. In that paper it can be deduced that in 100 grams of tofu there is about 35 or 36 mg. of isoflavones, such that one has to consume about 200 grams of tofu per day. Aware that tokwa is more compressed or dense than tofu, I wanted to know the difference of their density in order to arrive at the approximate quantity of tokwa for the daily requirement of tokwa consumption
to be able to take the needed daily intake of isoflavones.
Addendum by Cyrus
“density” should be densities (last sentence.
I fry my tofu diced. Masarap kasi yung malutong lahat ng sides. One simple tofu dish I do – kapag wala ng ulam na maisip is.. Fry the tofu with a little a garlic (like JunBug). Tapos in drain. For the sauce, boil some water and put in cut leeks (both green and white parts)- about an inch long. Soften the leeks, I like to put in the white portions first since they cook a little longer, then pour some oyster and a bit of hoisin sauce. I like my sauce a little thick so I use less water with the leeks and add a bit of cornstarch to make it thick. Tapos pour over the tofu or serve separately. Ang sarap kasama ng kanin.
hi connie,
i like your blogs…
anyways, i love tofu!!! i can nibble on it until i get all full…hehehe
i use chopped garlic, soy sauce, vinegar as my sauce for it… soy sauce adds flavor in the tokwa, garlic is an added spice.
but i wanted to try a new sauce for it…any suggestions?
DeBi, Kulasa’s idea above sounds wonderful. Or click here for tofu recipes.
this seems to be a 2-yr-old post, yet i enjoyed reading the suggestions of our “friends” here, as much as i enjoyed your excellent teachings about frying tofu..very authentic..nakakapaglaway ang tokwa’t baboy, hmmm, yummy! salamat po.
request ko po na gumawa kayo ng HOW TO MAKE THE TOFU SAUCE… pag fried na ang tokwa.
marami na akong nabibiling fried na tokwa sa Pilipinas at pare-pareho lang ang lasa ng sauce, paano po yun gawin?
Vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, onion, Ginger and sili.