Budget friendly vegan garlic chilli silken tofu is one of the easiest recipes to make and it comes with a bonus of a high protein content in the meal. I often get asked what is silken tofu, so let me explain. Silken tofu is one of the several varieties of tofu apart from the soft, medium, hard and extra hard. Silken tofu is the highest rung with moisture content of all the tofu varieties, it comes in a block form or in a squeezable sausage like packaging. The block form is quite fragile, so if a recipe requires to retain the shape, then it must be handled with a lot of care otherwise it can break or fall apart easily.
Garlic chilli silken tofu is a popular dish in Korea, Japan and China. It looks amazingly appetising whether served hot or cold. Delicious with just boiled rice, however it is quite a versatile dish when you consider the silky and jelly-like texture of the silken tofu. It is like vegan pate and is great served as a dip with rice crackers other assortment of crisp breads such as bread sticks and whole grain crackers. For a low carb option, serve atop a salad or a medley of stir fried shredded rainbow vegetables. The only stove top cooking for the vegan garlic chilli tofu is to heat the oil, that’s it. It can’t get easier than that.
Crushed garlic and finely chopped shallots in a bowl
Korean inspired Vegan Garlic Chilli Silken Tofu
Ingredients
- 2½ Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil or neutral oil like sunflower oil
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- ⅔ tsp gochugaru or red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp raw sugar – optional
- 1-2 stalks spring onion – chopped
- 1 fresh red or green chillies – sliced
- 1 clove of garlic crushed
- 1 pack of 300gm silken tofu
Instructions
Instructions
- Drain tofu, make a slit on the edge of the packaging with a knife and drain out the liquid.
- Lay the tofu on a clean piece of paper towel or kitchen towel to continue draining.
- While the tofu is draining, prepare the aromatic sauce
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, chilli flakes or gochugaru, chopped spring onions, garlic and sliced fresh chilli.
- Heat oil in a small pan. Add sugar if desired.
- Pour hot oil over the aromatics and enjoy the aroma and the dance of the spices
Assemble and serve:
- Remove the paper towel from the tofu and place the tofu on your serving plate.
- Slice into rectangles if desired. Spoon as much or as little of the soy sauce mixture on top.
Jeulgyeo즐겨
Enjoy!
Vegan silken tofu with spicy soy sauce is a family friendly recipe and is fun cooking activity to get the family involved. Great way to share cooking skills with the family.
Notes
- Silken tofu isundrained tofu which results in wabbly, delicate curds with soft texture similartocustard. It has a high moisture content and does not have the dense texture like medium or firm tofu.
- Serve silken tofu hot or cold. For the hot option, put the tofu on a plate that you’re serving it on and heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes
- Store any leftovers in an air-tight container and consume within a day or two.
- All ingredients for this recipe are generally available in an Asian grocery store.
- Some brands label silken tofu as soft tofu which works equally well.
