Wok-Fried Mozzarella Sticks With Dipping Sauce

• 1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Black pepper
• 1 leafy sprig basil
• 1 pound cheese curd (available at many cheese shops and Italian specialty stores)
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 2 cups oil for frying, including about 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Pass tomatoes through the grater disc of a food processor.
2. Stir in salt, olive oil, black pepper and basil.
3. Set aside.
4. Cut cheese curd into very small pieces and place in shallow, wide heatproof dish a couple inches deep, like a roasting pan.
5. In large pot over high heat, bring 2 quarts water to 185 to 190 degrees.
6. Stir in kosher salt, then pour over curds.
7. Let curds sit, undisturbed, for a full minute.
8. Press curds into corner of the pan with spoon or spatula and gently pack together.
9. In three to four minutes, they will form a mass.
10. The moment that happens, pour water from pan and knead cheese like bread dough until smooth and lump-free.
11. (At this point, if not continuing with recipe, the cheese can be twisted into balls, plunged into cold water or milk to set the shape, and eaten as fresh mozzarella.)
12. Press cheese into a loaf pan and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, to set it.
13. Meanwhile, set up station to bread the mozzarella: a shallow dish of flour, a shallow dish of beaten eggs and a shallow dish of bread crumbs.

tomatoes, salt, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, basil, curd, kosher salt, flour, eggs, bread crumbs, oil

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014087 (may not work)