Vietnamese tomato tofu

This simple, tangy Vietnamese tomato tofu is a comforting vegan dish that's very easy to make. It's made by adding baked or fried tofu cubes to a simple Asian onion-tomato sauce. Tomato tofu can be served with any rice or noodle dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 145kcal

Author Vandana Chauhan

Equipment

Oven
baking tray
1 large wok or pan with a lid
1 Spatula
Knife and cutting board

Ingredients

Ingredients for baked tofu

1 cup firm tofu cubes around 200 grams
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder optional
1 teaspoon cooking oil
Salt to taste

Other ingredients

3 cups chopped tomatoes around 400 grams, 4 medium tomatoes
1 medium red onion sliced
3 stalks spring onion keep green and white parts separated
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
1 Thai red chili finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon palm sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup water or, as required to get the desired consistency

Instructions

Put tofu cubes, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl. Gently toss until all the cubes get evenly coated with the seasonings and oil.
Spread tofu cubes on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet, Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (or, 400℉) for 12-15 minutes or until tofu starts turning golden brown.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and saute until it starts turning brown. Add chopped red chili and the white part of spring onion. Saute for a few seconds.
Next, add sliced onion and cook until it turns translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Mix and cook on medium heat for around 7-8 minutes or until the tomatoes turn mushy. You may cover the pan to fasten this step.
Pour a cup of water into the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat.
Finally add baked tofu cubes, green onions, and cilantro. Mix and cook for about a minute.
Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Don't remove the lid for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed Jasmine or sticky rice.

Video

Notes

Use firm or extra-firm tofu to make this recipe.
To get rid of the excess water from tofu, press the tofu block using a tofu press. Or, wrap the block of tofu in kitchen paper towels and press it with something heavy like a jar of beans, for at least 15 minutes. When you remove excess moisture from the tofu, it absorbs the flavors of the dish in a better way.
Instead of baking, you can also shallow or deep-fry the tofu cubes until their edges start turning golden brown.
Don't overcook tofu, it will turn chewy.
Mix tofu cubes with the seasonings and oil gently otherwise, the cubes will break.
Fresh tomatoes are the best for this recipe but if you don't have that canned diced tomatoes can be used too.
Use juicy tomatoes otherwise the sauce won't get the right consistency.
You can add a tablespoon of tomato paste for a rich tomato sauce.
I have sliced onion to use in this recipe but you can use chopped onion too, if you prefer smaller pieces of onion in the sauce.
Adding sugar is optional, if your tomatoes are already sweet you can skip it.
More recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.

Nutrition