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This simple, tangy Vietnamese tofu in tomato sauce is a comforting vegan dish that's very easy to make. It's made by adding fried or baked tofu in a simple onion-tomato gravy which can be served with any rice or noodle dish.
Life is so unpredictable, you never know what will happen to you the very next moment. Last year, this time we were busy finalizing our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, not having the slightest hint of how different the following year would be.
To avoid feeling gloomy and depressed during the quarantine, I thought of re-living our time in Vietnam by cooking a simple dish on which we survived a lot of days during our two-week meat-free trip to Vietnam last year.
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Vegetarian/ Vegan food in Vietnam
How to serve?
Type of Tofu to use
More easy tofu recipes
More easy vegan and vegetarian tomato recipes
Step by step photo instructions
Recipe
Vegetarian/ Vegan food in Vietnam
Finding Vegan or Vegetarian food in Vietnam is not very tough as there are quite a few restaurants providing the options.
Because of Buddhism, most people understand the meaning of Vegetarian food. You just need to remember the word 'Chay' with the correct tone (the Vietnamese language has 6 tones, more than Mandarin which has 4 tones), to communicate your vegetarian food preference.
However, there are only a few main ingredients that will be served to you in different forms if you want to have a meat-free meal in Vietnam. These ingredients were tofu, eggplant, pumpkin, and Vietnamese morning glory.
Of all these ingredients, my favorite was morning glory and I will share its recipe once we get free from this Pandemic and can go out shopping.
Today I am sharing a very simple Tofu recipe which is made by cooking tofu in a simple onion and tomato sauce. We had this dish at least once every day during our trip.
How to serve?
In Vietnam, we were always served this dish with some steamed jasmine rice and I think it tastes the best with it. Just serve some finely chopped chili peppers, calamansi/ lime wedges, salt, and ground black pepper on the side.
Just the thought of those simple Vegan Vietnamese meals makes me hungry.
You can also have it with stir-fried noodles if you want.
Type of Tofu to use
Use firm tofu for this recipe. In Vietnam, we always found this dish with deep-fried tofu cubes but when I make it at home, I prefer baking the tofu. You can choose whichever way you like.
These days a lot of stores also sell fried tofu in packets. To save time you can use that too. However, it won't be a healthy option.
In this recipe, I like very soft and silky tofu so bake it only for a few minutes. But, if you prefer crispy tofu either fry it or bake for a longer period.
More easy tofu recipes
Tofu is one of my favorite things to eat so I keep on making it in different ways. If you are looking for ideas to start adding tofu to your diet, don't miss to check out the following recipes:
Peanut butter tofu
Orange tofu
Tofu Fried rice
Chili garlic tofu
Pineapple tofu
More easy vegan and vegetarian tomato recipes
Tomato puff pastry tart
Roasted bell pepper and tomato soup
Bengali style tomato chutney
Cherry tomato pasta
Step by step photo instructions
Recipe
Vietnamese tofu in tomato sauce
This simple, tangy Vietnamese tofu in tomato sauce is a comforting vegan dish that's very easy to make. It's made by adding fried or baked tofu in a simple onion-tomato gravy which can be served with any rice or noodle dish.
3cupschopped tomatoesfresh or canned both are fine
1medium sized onionsliced
3sprigsspring onionkeep white and green part separated
¼cupchopped coriander leaves
1teaspoonchopped garlic
1Thai red chili finely chopped
1tbspsoy sauce
½teaspoonsugar
½teaspoonblack pepper powder
Salt as per taste
1tbspcooking oil
1cupwateradjust to get the desired consistency
Instructions
In a bowl toss tofu cubes, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for 12-15 minutes or until it starts turning brown.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and saute until it starts turning brown. Add chopped red chili and white part of spring onion. Saute for a few seconds.
Next, add sliced onion and saute until it turns translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Mix and cook for around 5 minutes.
Pour 1 cup of water into the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Finally add baked tofu, spring onion green, and coriander leaves. Mix and cook for about a minute. Cover the pan and switch off the gas. Don't remove the lid for at least 5 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed Jasmine or sticky rice.
Notes
Instead of baking you can also shallow or deep fry the tofu cubes.
Many cooking experts champion a quick soak as a way to give the protein more texture and flavor. “Simmering cubed tofu in salted water for 60 seconds pulls out excess moisture and tightens the proteins on its surface,” Lukas Volger told Bon Appétit in 2021.
Press it. Tofu contains a lot of water, and you'll want to squeeze most of it out, especially if you're baking, grilling, or frying it. I recommend using a tofu press to do this, because it gives the tofu a delicious chewy texture and makes cleanup a breeze. But having one isn't necessary.
Carefully lower the block of tofu into a pot of gently boiling water — you need just enough to cover the tofu by an inch or so. Reduce the heat to low and poach the tofu for at least 5 minutes (although you can allow it to sit in the hot water to keep it warm until ready to serve).
If you're boiling the tofu on the hob, 5-10 minutes will suffice. The longer you simmer, the more seasoned your tofu will be. If you're pouring boiling water over tofu, without an additional heat source, leave it for 15-20 minutes.
Here's the thing: even though tofu might be labeled firm or extra-firm, it contains a lot of water. This excess water can cause the tofu to crumble when you cook it, and it will also have a hard time crisping up. But when you press tofu, you remove the excess moisture.
Soaking tofu in salted water is an alternative to pressing or freezing, and it takes just 15 minutes. It draws out excess water from the tofu for a crispier crust. Plus, it has the added benefit of seasoning the tofu by osmosis as the salty solution displaces the unseasoned water content inside.
What to not serve with tofu? According to studies, a high volume consumption of tofu and spinach together can increase your risk of kidney stones. Tofu and spinach contain calcium and oxalic acid respectively and the combined can form kidney stones.
Healthier - For starters, broiling tofu is a healthier method of cooking than frying, and it requires less oil to create crispier cubes. Easy - It's also really easy to make.
Press tofu and cube it. Coat it in garlic, black pepper, salt (plus more of your favourite seasonings), liquid aminos and some olive oil. Then mix it into some cornstarch and toss it all together, then bake for about 20 minutes. Cornstarch also helps to draw out excess moisture so it really gets the tofu crispy.
Cut tofu into cubes. Step 2: Place those cubes in a bowl, and toss gently with 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Step 3: Arrange tofu on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with some olive oil and salt. Step 4: Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, or until as crispy as you'd like.
If you're cooking slices or cubes, cut the tofu into slices, layer them between paper towels and weigh down the individual slices. The finished tofu should be spongy yet dry (you'll need to weigh it down for 30 minutes to 2 hours).
How to safely eat raw tofu. While tofu comes in a variety of textures — silken, firm, and extra firm — technically any of them can be eaten raw. Before enjoying raw tofu, drain off any excess liquid from the packaging. It's also important to store tofu properly to prevent germs from growing on any unused portions.
Wrap the block of tofu in a clean tea towel then put it on a large plate with a lip. Put something heavy such as a frying pan on top, weight it down further with cans and jars, and leave for 30 mins. The tofu will be about two-thirds its original thickness, and up to 100ml water will have been removed.
The weight will gradually and effectively squeeze the moisture out of the block of tofu, where it will be absorbed by the paper towels. If the paper towels become fully saturated, you may need to replace them with fresh paper towels and continue pressing until the paper towels stop absorbing moisture.
Why does the brine work? Both the heat and the salinity of the water draw moisture out of the surface of the tofu, helping it crisp and brown. The hot water also gradually tightens the proteins at the surface of the tofu, helping keep any remaining moisture inside.
You can leave the tofu in the bag with the marinade for as little as 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours. Can I marinate tofu overnight? Technically, yes, but in our tests, the tofu that marinated for longer than 4 hours absorbed too much of the marinade and ended up less flavorful and crispy.
However, in the end, our preferred method was our old standard: Submerging the tofu in plain tap water (and not changing it) kept the tofu as fresh-tasting as straight-from-the-package tofu for 10 days and didn't require any maintenance.
Wrap the block of tofu in a clean tea towel then put it on a large plate with a lip. Put something heavy such as a frying pan on top, weight it down further with cans and jars, and leave for 30 mins. The tofu will be about two-thirds its original thickness, and up to 100ml water will have been removed.
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