Tahu Tek: Surabaya's Peanut-Dressed Tofu

Ingredients

• 4 blocks firm tofu, fried until golden
• 400 g lontong, compressed rice cake, sliced into rounds
• For the peanut sauce
• 200 g roasted peanuts, ground to a coarse paste
• 2 tbsp petis udang, East Javanese fermented shrimp paste sauce
• 250 ml water, added to achieve a thin, pourable consistency

Method

1. 1
   Fry the tofu blocks in oil over moderate heat, turning once, until each surface is golden and the exterior is set with a dry, firm crust. Remove and allow to cool slightly before slicing.
2. 2
   Combine the ground peanut paste with the petis udang and work in water gradually, stirring, until the sauce is thin and pourable — assertive and deeply savoury on the tongue, with the shrimp paste fully integrated rather than raw or separated. This is where the dish lives or dies: a sauce too thick loses the Surabaya character; petis udang too restrained and it becomes indistinguishable from gado-gado.
3. 3
   Arrange sliced lontong on each plate. Lay the fried tofu over and alongside. The tofu must be the primary element; lontong supports rather than equals it.
4. 4
   Pour the peanut sauce over the composed plate. The sauce should flow freely across the tofu and lontong, pooling slightly at the base — not sitting as a thick mass.