Steamed tofu with a savory soy sauce garlic dressing.
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 in hot summer days or can be used in hot stews and soups in winter. Though it is plain and tasteless itself, the smooth texture and soy aroma still win ours hearts. There are lots of people love the raw taste of tofu. But there are also a large group of haters. Lots of people believe that there is a soy raw taste make tofu not delicious at all. In order to remove the raw taste, tofu is either blanched firstly or steamed firstly. In Mapo tofu, we blanched the tofu in boiling water. Steaming tofu for 6-10 minutes is another commonly used method.
Steaming is another great way of removing the soy bean raw taste. So make sure your dish is served hot.
Cook’s Note
Get your silken tofu out of 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 on the two diagonal corners. Blow some air in, then the package can be removed easily.
- In order to make the tofu enough tasteful, we need to use a large amount of dressing sauce. And please take easy about the calories because we do not eat all of the dressing.
- Soy sauce from different brand may differ in saltness. So you can adjust the salt amount. By the way, the sauce itself should be a 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 of sprouted tofu or silken tofu
Sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 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 to 1 tsp. salt (taste your sauce and see how much needed)
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ½ tbsp. black vinegar
Steps
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.
Ingredients
- 1 box of sprouted tofu or 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.
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.
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.