Here is another cold tofu recipe that’s easy enough to make any day of the week. It’s called a 凉拌豆腐 (liángbàn dòufu) dish, which means “cold-tossed tofu.” No cooking required, and so much flavor for a tofu dish. It will not disappoint!
Tofu Growing in Popularity
Tofu has made it into regular grocery stores, and it’s a great healthy protein for every type of diet. We’ve seen many Western recipes using tofu as a plant-based protein replacement (see Kaitlin’s Air Fryer Tofu), but in Chinese cooking, tofu is an ingredient in its own right, not a meat replacement!
We’ve published other liangban tofu recipes, like our Spicy Cold Tofu, which is more traditional and made with silken or soft tofu, as well as our Liangban Pressed Tofu from our cookbook.
That said, those recipes do use “specialty” tofu. These are types of tofu that you’ll need to seek out in Asian markets. This recipe, on the other hand, uses regular firm tofu, which has become much more popular and accessible in recent years.
Did You Know Tofu Is Fully Cooked and Ready to Eat?
Tofu is already cooked and ready to eat out of the box. While you could pan-fry it, braise it, or add it to soups, you can also just open up the package and eat it.
I absolutely love tofu and eat it three to four times a week. I make liangban tofu dishes often during the summer, when it’s hot out and I don’t want to turn on the stove. This dish has so much flavor from the thinly sliced red onion, cilantro, garlic, sesame oil, and chili oil, but it takes minutes to put together.
You can also use additional raw vegetables, like julienned carrot, broccoli stems, bell pepper, kohlrabi, zucchini, or microgreens. Make it your own!
Cold Tossed Tofu Recipe Instructions
In a large bowl, combine minced garlic, light soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
As you can see below, I mixed the sauce in a separate bowl, but you’ll save on cleanup if you just make the dressing in the bowl you toss the tofu in.
Add the cubed tofu, red onion, and cilantro. Toss gently until combined, being careful not to break up the tofu pieces.
Serve! (Or make up to 1 day in advance, and keep chilled until ready to serve.)
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Recipe
Cold-Tossed Tofu (凉拌豆腐)
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons chili oil (optional; I used 2 teaspoons)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
- 14-16 ounces firm tofu (cut into bite-size cubes; 1 box)
- ½ small red onion (julienned)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine minced garlic, light soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the cubed tofu, red onion, and cilantro. Gently toss until combined. Serve! (Or make up to 1 day in advance, and keep chilled until ready to serve.)
