By Melissa Clark
Updated Jan. 7, 2024
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(1,485)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You can use any kind of cooked grain as the base of this colorful, deeply flavored tofu and cabbage bowl. The grains, vegetables and tofu add texture, heft and protein, but the real star is the pungent sauce, a mix of chile crisp, garlic and soy sauce sweetened with ketchup. Brushed onto the tofu and cabbage before roasting, the sauce caramelizes and mellows. Drizzled on top of the bowl right at the end, it stays bright and snappy. Fresh cherry tomatoes tossed with more chile crisp make a juicy, spicy garnish, but you can leave them out if you don’t have any on hand.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1(14- to 16-ounce) package firm or extra-firm tofu
- ¼cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
- 2garlic cloves, grated or minced
- ¼cup ketchup
- 1½tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½tablespoons fish sauce (or substitute an umami seasoning, such as Yondu or coconut amino acids, or more soy sauce)
- 1tablespoon chile crisp, more to taste
- 1teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1½cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½teaspoon fine sea or table salt, more to taste
- 1½pounds napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, cored and sliced crosswise ½ inch thick
- 1bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- 1lime, cut into wedges (or use more rice wine vinegar)
- 4cups cooked grains (rice, farro, barley, millet or whatever else you have on hand) or salad greens
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
283 calories; 19 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 1141 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step
2
Cut the tofu into 1-inch-thick slabs. Cut each slab in half to make squares. Line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels and place tofu on top. Place another layer of paper towels on the tofu and weigh down with a skillet or cans. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Step
3
While the tofu is draining, make the sauce: Heat the oil in a small pot or skillet over medium-high. Stir in the garlic and let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in ketchup, soy sauce, fish sauce, ½ tablespoon of the chile crisp and the rice vinegar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Step
4
In a small bowl, mix together the tomatoes, the remaining ½ tablespoon chile crisp and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Step
5
Place tofu on one side of the prepared baking sheet and generously brush both sides of the pieces with the sauce.
Step
6
Add the cabbage to a bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and toss with ¼ cup sauce. (Reserve remaining sauce for serving.) Spread cabbage on the other side of the baking sheet in an even layer.
Step
7
Roast tofu and cabbage for about 30 minutes, tossing the cabbage after 15 minutes. The tofu should be lightly golden at the edges and the cabbage tender and bronzed. Toss about half of the scallions into the cabbage and squeeze lime wedges over everything (or drizzle with a little rice vinegar). Taste cabbage and add more salt or sauce, if needed.
Step
8
To serve, put 1 cup grains in each of 4 bowls. Drizzle the grains with a little of the sauce. Top with tofu, cabbage and spicy tomatoes. Garnish with cilantro and remaining scallions, and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,485
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Cooking Notes
Jana
What can I substitute for chili crisp?
Bks4JHB
We loved this! We doubled the sauce, and tossed the tofu in the pan with half of it and the cabbage in a bowl with the other. Much easier than brushing sauce on each little square of tofu. We also subbed Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of fish sauce.
Penny
If you have a Trader Joe's near you they have Chili Crisp in a little jar. It's amazing stuff!
Kayra
Great to see Melissa Clark committing (finally long overdue) to learning more "plant-based cooking". How about listing the NON plant based ingredient fish-sauce as the last option for umami, not the first? (Or for a true commitment don't note fish sauce at all or note vegan fish sauce, which does exist).
Nancy L
Lao Gan Ma brand chili crisp is probably the most popular commercial brand. The Times has a reasonably simple recipe for chile crisp: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022366-chile-crisp. I make my own with a recipe from Woks of Life (the simplest version): https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-make-chili-oil. It lasts for many months in the refrigerator. It has a good mix of oil and crispy bits. Definitely worth making.
Jay
I needed a lot more of the sauce then in the recipe- but its not to hard to double. Also make sure to put aluminum foil under the cabbage!! It made lots of burnt stuff on the bottom.
vs
What is the recipe for chile crisp? Can I substitute toasted red chilli flakes?
David
Just OK for our taste. I thought the tofu needed to be salted, or perhaps marinated with sauce. Also thought the sauce needed a shot of sweetness. A little maple syrup or honey would add another dimension.
Jim
I made this as written, using less Napa cabbage but with two baby bok choys (mother of necessity and all that), delicious. Next time I might try roasting the cut tomatoes briefly to sweeten and make them richer. Great recipe.
JB
Thin down some tomato paste with a little water as a ketchup substitute.
BJ
I use garlic chili sauce.
Karl
Having made Tofu and Green Beans with Chili Crisp a few times I'm excited to try this. I order chili crisp on amazon - for those asking, I don't think there is a good substitute - it's worth having in your fridge.
Victor H.
For the sugar-adverse: They do make sugar-free ketchup. I've been using it for years and can't tell the difference.
TriciaPDX
Instead of using up paper towels to drain the tofu, use your dish towels. You can't wash paper towels but you can drain a whole lot of tofu over many years using dish towels!
lynne
this was surprisingly tasty. Added a chunk of oyster mushroom to the roast and served atop Israeli couscous.
Becca
I had less cabbage than I thought, so subbed about half the cabbage with cauliflower. Roasted cauliflower is always awesome, even more so in chili crisp sauce.I don't have ketchup so I just skipped it, but used seasoned rice vinegar. I'm guessing I missed something, but it was still good.
Jane
This was so good. My husband doesn't like a lot of heat in foods, so I went very, very easy on this chili crisp, adding small amounts and tasting to get mild heat and a bit of the smoky flavor. It was delicious! Served on farro, which was perfect.
DG
Loved this. Made with brown rice. Used Whole Foods unsweetened ketchup, Trader Joe’s version of chile crisp, and doubled the soy sauce in place of fish sauce. Yummy!
Mark A
I prepare the sauce a couple of hours in advance in a fry pan that will just barely accommodate the tofu squares. When the sauce is ready, I place the tofu in the pan and smother the tops with sauce scooped up from around the edges of the pan, place a cover on the pan, and let the tofu slabs marinate until I’m ready to cook them.
ERN
A nice, simple recipe. I would make this again, but would either marinate the tofu instead of just brushing on the sauce for a more flavorful bite. If not marinating, sauce is non-negotiable. I would also watch the cabbage, at 425 mine was starting to char so I took it out early. Spice is easily adjusted.
J-bo
I have made this several times. Love it with a few mods.1. Make everything but the tofu and cabbage the day before. Really streamlines the process2. At the very least double the sauce3. Instead of the tomatoes with chili crisp. I make a salad out of seeded cucumbers, tomatoes and spring onions. I marinate in the chili crisp, rice wine vinegar and a little salt.4. Freeze tofu for texture. I press, cube freeze. Take out the day b4. Coat in equal parts corn starch olive oil. Cook as directed
ALO
Made the cabbage and tofu on the grill. Super easy and so good!
Angela
Delicious and interesting mix of flavors. I used pearl couscous as the grain, and the overall textures were good. However, as others have noted, I could easily have doubled the sauce and still used it all.
Jason Rico
I should have followed the suggestions to double the sauce. We served it with farro. It was outstanding.
Alex
This was one of the most delicious meals I have eaten in a while. I had to double the sauce - seems that many recipes need it. Otherwise, I made the recipe as written - and I developed a newfound love for roasted cabbage, which added a little bite that you can taste, even with the chili crisp flavor. I wish I could eat it all over again.
hannah
- doubled the sauce- roasted tomatoes separately to bring out sweetness; only used oil and salt on them so leftovers can be used in more dishes - served with brown riceThis is a good dish when all the bits are mixed together. I might try to find a similar sauce at the HMart to have on-hand for lazier nights. A fried egg is a delicious addition
Michelle
I've made this several times for guests and everyone loves it. I use half a red cabbage instead of napa, which is really delicious roasted (I make Red Cabbage Ragù with the leftovers). I also use several tofu packages and double to triple the sauce (I quickly marinade the tofu and cabbage separately, then have leftover sauce for people to apply to their own bowls).
julie
Maybe 1/3c oil in sauce. It didn’t totally mix.
Shelley
Thank you Melissa for another winner in my book!We are not vegetarians. But I’m always looking for new ways to cook tofu because my husband and I like it.This is a delicious simple dinner! We had it over Farro, I highly recommend that.
Sara
A word to the wise: Whole Foods brand parchment paper only withstands oven temps up to 420 degrees. Ours lit on fire.
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