Steamed silken tofu with a savory soy sauce garlic dressing. This is the best Chinese silken tofu recipe for me. It is so tender and so flavorful. The silken tofu melts in the mouth with all of the seasonings and that's the way of enjoying silken tofu.
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Tofu in Chinese cuisine
As one of the most popular and humble Chinese ingredients, we eat tofu around the year. It is one of the best ingredients for a simple tofu salad on hot summer days or can be used in hot stews and soups in winter. Though it is plain and tasteless, the smooth texture and soy aroma still win our hearts. There are lots of people who love the raw taste of tofu. But there are also a large group of haters. Lots of people believe that there is soy raw taste makes tofu not delicious at all. In order to remove the raw taste, tofu is either blanched first or steamed first. In Mapo tofu, we blanched the tofu in boiling water. Steaming tofu for 6-10 minutes is another commonly used method.
💭What type of tofu to use
I use silken tofu. Silken tofu has a higher water content than other types of tofu (more than 66%) which gives it a super softer, smoother texture. It is often used in soups and sauces, as well as desserts such as pudding and ice cream. Silken tofu can also be used as a vegan replacement for dairy products such as yogurt and cream cheese. so it melts in a month quickly. It tastes more like a pudding dessert. So if you want to pursue a melt-in-mouth texture, silken tofu is the best choice.
If silken tofu is hard to find, you can also use soft tofu for this steamed tofu recipe.
Get your silken tofu out of the box without breaking
- Use a small knife and separate the edges of the package. Take a plate and cover it over the package. Turn it over and then cut small holes in the two diagonal corners. Blow some air in, then the package can be removed easily.
Cook's Note
- In order to make the tofu enough tasteful, we need to use a large amount of dressing sauce. And please take it easy about the calories because we do not eat all of the dressing.
- Soy sauce from different brands may differ in saltness. So you can adjust the salt amount. By the way, the sauce itself should be slightly over-salty since the tofu is tasteless. Don't be scared by the sodium amount, we do not eat them all.
Ingredients
1 box silken tofu, or soft tofu
Ingredients for sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp. chopped scallion and coriander (or scallion only)
- 2 fresh Thai pepper (optional), cut into small sections
- ½ to 1 tsp. salt (taste your sauce and see how much is needed)
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ½ tbsp. black vinegar
Instructions
Place the tofu on a large plate and then cut the cubes into several 2 cm thick pieces. Silken tofu can be broken very easily, cutting in the serving plate can avoid transferring and keep the original shape. You can also choose to steam tofu in a whole box shape. But cutting makes the dish more delicious.
Let the tofu stay on the plate for a couple of minutes. Then carefully discard the water released. Set up your steamer and steam the tofu for 6-8 minutes. Transfer out and discard only water in the plate.
During the steaming process, let's make the sauce. Place garlic and scallion in a small bow. Heat oil in a small pot and then drizzle the hot oil on garlic and scallion. And then add the other seasonings. Let the sauce combine for 2 minutes.
Take the steamed tofu plate out and then drizzle the sauce on the steamed tofu.
Ingredients
- 1 box silken tofu
Sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce , I use low sodium
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. dried small shrimp or roasted peanuts
- 1 tbsp. chopped scallion and coriander or scallion only
- 2 fresh Thai pepper optional, cut into small sections
- ½ tsp. salt , or to taste
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ½ tbsp. black vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Place the tofu in a large plate and then cut the cubes into several 2 cm thick pieces. Silken tofu can be broken very easily, cutting in serving plate can avoid transferring and keep the original shape. You can also choose to steam tofu as a whole box shape. But cutting makes the dish more delicious.
- Let the tofu stay in the plate for coupe of minutes, then carefully discard the water released.
- Set up your steamer and steam the tofu for 6-8 minutes. Transfer out and discard only water in the plate.
- Heat oil in a small pot and then drizzle the hot oil on garlic and scallion. Then mix in all the other sauces.
- Drizzle the sauce over the steamed tofu and serve the dish hot.
Nutrition
Nani
When you said heat the oil, is it the sesame oil?
Elaine
No, I use regular vegetable cooking oil.
Amy
Hey can I put the sauce and later microwave instead of steaming will it work ? Or will it taste good cold or at room temp ?
Elaine
It tastes good when hot, just after steamed.
Davis
This recipe is so good. It is now one of my favorite dishes. Thank you for sharing.
Elaine
Thanks for your lovely feedback, Davis.
Joey & Quỳnh Mollica
Hi Elaine! Thanks for the great recipe. Made this today for lunch and it was perfectly seasoned. I added in an additional tablespoon of water to help cut down on the saltiness and it was A-OK. Absolutely a do-again recipe for us 🙂
Mercy
Hi, is black vinegar, dark soy sauce?
Elaine
No. Dark soy sauce is for coloring however black vinegar is a sour seasoning.
Jessica
Delicious! Thank you for posting. Adding it to my repertoire~
Elaine
Thank you for your lovely feedback.
Lizzy
This is my go to tofu recipe. It’s perfectly written an amazing every time.!!!
Elaine
Thanks Lizzy! Happy cooking!
Lauren G.
I've made this dish both steamed and just cold with the sauce on top and both ways are soooo good and simple. Thank you for sharing!
Elaine
Thanks Lauren for your lovely feedback!! I am so happy to know you like it.
Jack
How much oil should we heat up to drizzle on the scallions and garlic?
Elaine
Usually 2 tablespoons.
Michael
I was finally able to make this, and boy was it delicious!!! It wont be the last time for sure, as I already have a second block of silken tofu waiting in the fridge. Next time I will not add the extra salt, to cut back on the sodium. Anyway it’s just as easy to sprinkle table salt onto my already prepared plate. TY for your exciting and delicious recipes.
Elaine
Thank you, Michael. So happy to get this feedback.
Jelly
What size is the box of tofu (ounces/grams)?
Elaine
Jelly,
One box of tofu should be around 400g.