My toe is healing up well and thankfully I wasn’t limping at last weekend’s Viet Book Fest in Orange County’s Little Saigon. Alas, I’m still not quite up for my usual long daily walks.

Not being as active as I’d like to, I’ve been trying to eat a bit lighter. I’ve been air-frying lots of tofu in the Ninja Combi oven, which excels at air-frying without leaving foods desiccated and chewy awful.

First up was a batch of salt and pepper tofu, a recipe on my website that’s been a long time favorite.

Lemongrass tofu, an excellent bar snack

Feeling lucky, I reworked my Vietnamese chili-lemongrass tofu (đậu hủ chiên xả ớt) recipe so it’s prepped in the air-fryer. I love this dish, which I first ate as a deep-fried bar snack (món nhậu) in Ho Chi Minh City years ago. At the brewpub near our hotel, everyone sipped beer from utilitarian bowls. My travel buddy Karen and I joined in on the fun and ordered a bunch of snacks to make a dinner. This lemongrass tofu was the evening’s standout.

Even though I developed a recipe for this tofu several years ago, this past week, I retooled it to air-fry the tofu and make it easier and crispier! Shazam, it was even better. ⚡️

This fried lemongrass tofu tofu is so good that I made a lot, actually too much. In the process, I realized that it can be totally prepped in advance for easy meals during the week. Trot it out to enjoy with jasmine rice as a main dish, or feature it in a bun rice noodle bowl or grain bowls. Add Viet daikon and carrot pickle for refreshing crunch.

Like Rory, you probably worry about my crush on the Ninja Combi oven. I was skeptical about the steam oven but it’s does do a lot for your for $200. As I’ve played with it, I’ve discovered that one of its most outstanding functions is air-frying. In particular, it outperforms by trusty Cuisinart to air-fry tofu to a golden crisp.

The Ninja combi doesn’t just blow hot wind on food. It smartly air-fries food to circulate the heat and bit of oil that you put on the food. The result is wonderful crispiness. And, with no wiry air-fry baking tray to deal with, food doesn’t stick and clean up is so much easier.

Here’s the Ninja Combi air-frying tofu for today’s recipe:

Don’t have the Ninja Combi or an air-fryer yet? You can still make this terrific lemongrass tofu recipe. Use your regular air-fryer or use the conventional instructions in the recipe to cook the tofu on the stove! The crispness won’t be quite the same as with the Ninja oven. But either way, I’ve got you covered.

Lemongrass tofu for lemongrass 💘 and crispy tofu lovers

In this dispatch, expect the following:

• Lemongrass tofu recipe in full text and downloadable PDF with air-frying and pan-frying instructions

• Two (2) videos on tofu butchering and potentially tricky steps

• Make-ahead pointers so you can add this tofu into your rotation or make it for your next party

• Ingredient sourcing tips

If you love lemongrass, this recipe highlights its citrusy flavor super well. It’s naturally vegan and appeals to omnivores like my mother who ate seconds and then guarded the leftovers!

Let’s make it.

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