Silken Tofu w/Eggplant Relish from 2013 Rookie Vendy Finalist Sweet Chili

4952
(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)

How about a bite of Silken Tofu? We’ve been big fans of Sweet Chili since they first opened 2 months ago. Obviously, we’re not the only ones taking notice, sinc ethey were recently nominated as a Vendy Award Finalist in the Rookie of the Year category.

After trying Sweet Chili Chicken and Heavenly Beef, it was time to try a vegetarian dish, Miso Glazed Silken Tofu for $9.

Even though there’s usually plenty to eat in Sweet Chili’s lunch, we ordered a bag of shrimp crackers for $3, something you don’t see too often outside of Asian markets.

Unbeknownst to us, they also tossed in a little treat for dessert on the house. If we knew that was coming, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the shrimp crackers. (That should be the worst of our problems.)

(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)

Silken tofu is a bit of a misnomer, because the tofu was not silky and smooth, it was crispy. If you read down the menu, the tofu is described as crisp, but if you just read the name of the dish, it could be misleading.

A better name for this dish could be puffy tofu, because that’s what we got. The tofu was lightly breaded and fried, but very airy.

We could make out the miso glaze on the tofu, but not the maple so much.

(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)

What we could make out was the eggplant relish topping the tofu. It had a little bit of a vinegary bite, which was a complementary topping for the miso glazed tofu.

The green papaya salad was not quite as vinegary as the other salads we’ve had at Sweet Chili, and there were a decent amount of chopped peanuts and tomatoes in this salad.

The shrimp crackers were exactly what we expected, which is why we got them. They were store-bought, but combine two of our favorite edibles, shrimp and potato chips.

(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)

The freebie dessert was a small container of lychee jelly. It was a clear, sweet, fruity jelly, with a few small pieces of lychee in the jelly. That gave it a little texture beyond the jelly itself.

We’re glad to see Lisa and her Sweet Chili crew get the recognition they deserve. The quality is high, and there’s nothing else like it on the NYC streets. They have as good a chance as anyone to win the Rookie Vendy Award.

To try Sweet Chili out for yourself, follow them on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.

Or you can try them at the 2013 Vendy Awards, with the rest of the best street vendors in NYC. Tickets are still available here, but they always sell out by the event, so if you snooze, you lose.

(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)