Tofu Bowl With Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce
Recipes for quick lunch that you can easily put into your lunch box are a must in my opinion. Add spicy peanut butter sauce and you got yourself a crowd pleaser too. You can also make a batch of this and have it ready whenever, what’s not to like?
These bowls are one of my favourite lunch (or dinner) to make. They are easy, you can make a batch for few days and you can use whatever vegetables you have at hand. They are also great if you need to take lunch with you to work (maybe at some point we will actually go back to work and then these recipes will be handy).
What ingredients to use?
TOFU - use either firm or medium firm, don’t use silken tofu - it wouldn’t hold its shape. You could also use smoked tofu (in that case I wouldn’t marinate it, smoked tofu is nice on its own).
SOY SAUCE - in this recipe I use light and dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is a bit thicker and bolder in flavour but it is also less salty. I realise that not everyone has dark soy sauce at home so just replace it with light soy sauce. For gluten free, use tamari.
VEGETABLES - I used carrots, cucumber and radishes. But you can use whatever vegetables you have at hand, it’s the best about bowls like this. Spinach, kale, avocado, baked sweet potatoes, corn, edamame, broccoli, courgette,… All those and more will taste great.
RICE - sometimes I like to use sushi rice, another time basmati or jasmine rice.. Anything that you like. Or replace it with quinoa if you don’t like rice.
How to prepare the best tofu?
There is a lot of water in tofu so pressing it down to get rid of it is important, don’t skip it. Trust me, it makes all the difference. Let it marinate for some time - at least 30 mins. I found out that if you are using firm tofu it needs a bit more time to marinate than the medium firm one. When you cook it, don’t overcrowd the pan - otherwise tofu will steam. So if your pan is not large enough, cook it in batches.
For more vegan quick lunches be sure to check out:
Bún bò Nam Bô (Vietnamese noodle salad)
Cold Soba Noodles with Tahini and Miso Sauce
Winter Vegetables Bowl with Tahini Za’atar Dressing
If you make this tofu bowl, and take photos of it, tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I love to see people making my recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest, where you can comment and rate my recipes.
Serves 2
Ingredients
Bowl
400 g tofu (firm or medium firm)
4 tbsp light soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 cucumber - sliced
1 medium carrot - cut into matchsticks
100g radishes - sliced or quartered
2 tsp vegetable oil
to serve with: rice, furikake, coriander, spring onion…
Peanut Butter Sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
3tsp rice vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp sriracha
around 4tbsp water
2tbsp light soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
1tbsp dark soy sauce (if you don’t have it, replace with 1tbsp light soy sauce)
Method
Drain and press tofu - cut it into slices (around 2cm), place them on a flat surface lined with a clean towel (or paper towels), cover them with another layer of towels and place something heavy on top - I usually use a cookbook. Press it for around 20 mins and then cut into cubes.
Mix 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar and 1 tsp maple syrup in a bowl, add tofu, mix together and leave to marinate for at least 30 mins - but the longer the better.
Mix all the ingredients for peanut butter sauce, taste and season to your taste.
Heat up a oil in a large frying pan. Cook tofu on medium heat on each side for 2 mins.
Prepare the bowls: add rice, top it with cucumber, radishes, carrot and tofu. Drizzle with peanut butter sauce and garnish with furikake, coriander or spring onions.
Notes:
If you are using firm tofu, you can cut it into cubes straight away and then press. Otherwise wait for after the pressing, because if the tofu is not firm, it might get crushed by the weight.
You might need more or less water for the sauce - it all depends on how liquid your peanut butter is or how liquid you want the sauce to be.
If you don’t have dark soy sauce at home, just replace it with light soy sauce. In case you need this meal to be gluten free, use tamari.
Don’t overcrowd tofu in the pan - if your pan is not large enough, cook it in batches. Otherwise it will steam, which is not that bad but I would prefer it cooked :))