Black pepper tofu, honed to a delicious shine

Countless Chinese restaurants know: There’s something about the combination of black pepper and tofu that sings. And it’s got a rich, deep bass voice, too.

Like many other cooks, I first made black pepper tofu at home when I saw it in that instant-classic book “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi. You fry cubes of tofu until crisp, then make a pungent sauce out of heaps of coarsely cracked black pepper, chili peppers, ginger, garlic and more. But I balked at a few things — 12 tablespoons of butter? Three kinds of soy sauce? — and soon started making it with my own adjustments. The dish is super-fiery, and I love spice, but I toned it down. I wanted that low, rumbling flavor of black pepper to dominate, not the sharp screech of serrano peppers.

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