Pat dry 300g extra firm tofu with a clean tea towel, cut the block into four widthways, then into three lengthways, so you end up with 12 pieces. Cut each of these in half to give you 24 cubes.
In a shallow dish, whisk 2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp lime juice, add the tofu, toss gently to coat and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, stirring twice in that time.
For the ginger pickle, put 100 ml rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a small pan and bring to a simmer on a medium-high heat. Off the heat, stir in 30g ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks and leave to cool and pickle gently.
Now for the sambal. Put 60 ml olive oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, add 300g peeled and finely chopped shallots, 6 peeled and finely chopped cloves of garlic, 30g mild fresh finely chopped chillies, the finely chopped stalks of 20g coriander, 3 lime leaves, finely chopped and 2 whole star anise, and cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Add 2 hot dried chillies, 1,5 tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 3 tbsp tomato paste, 1,5 tbsp maple syrup and a teaspoon of salt, and cook, still stirring often, for five minutes more. Add 150ml water and keep warm on a low heat.
Meanwhile, put 300 ml sunflower oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, and lift the tofu from its marinade, reserving any left in the bowl. Working in two or three batches, fry the tofu for two minutes, until golden with slightly dark edges, then transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper while you cook the rest of the tofu.
Put the fried tofu back in the reserved marinade and toss to coat. Lift the tofu into the pan of warm sambal (discard any excess marinade at this point), bring to a simmer and heat through for a couple of minutes.
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