Sichuan Cold Tofu with Chili (Liang Ban Dou Fu)

Ingredients

• 600 g silken or soft tofu, very cold, straight from refrigerator
• For the dressing
• 30 ml Sichuan chili oil, quality — with sediment
• 15 ml soy sauce
• 10 ml sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced to a paste
• 15 ml Chinkiang black rice vinegar, optional, for brightness
• To finish
• 10 g dried shrimp (xia pi), soaked in cold water 10 minutes, drained
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

Method

1. 1
   Keep the tofu in the refrigerator until the moment of plating. If using silken tofu in a sealed tub, upend the tub onto a rimmed plate and unmould cleanly to present a cold cylinder. If using block tofu, drain thoroughly and cut into a neat slab. The tofu must be cold to the touch — this thermal contrast is half the dish.
2. 2
   Soak the dried shrimp in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and press lightly dry. Set aside. They should yield slightly when pressed but retain a distinct firmness — if still hard and chalky, soak a further 5 minutes.
3. 3
   Combine the chili oil (with its sediment), soy sauce, sesame oil, and minced garlic in a small bowl. Add Chinkiang vinegar if using. Stir to integrate. Taste: the dressing should be fiery, numbing, deeply savoury, and sharp from the raw garlic. The chili oil is the primary flavour — if it reads thin or flat, the dish cannot recover. This is where the dish lives or dies.
4. 4
   Pour the dressing over the cold tofu in a slow, circular motion from the outside edge inward, ensuring even coverage across the entire surface.
5. 5
   Scatter the soaked dried shrimp evenly over the dressed tofu, then finish with the sliced spring onion. The surface should show a vivid red gloss of chili oil broken by the pale green of spring onion and the small, amber fragments of shrimp.
6. 6
   Serve immediately, while the tofu remains cold. The correct sensory experience is cold, creamy tofu against the concentrated heat and numbing quality of the dressing.