Vietnamese Recipes Tofu

Hope your weekend was peachy, guys? Ours was pretty nice apart from wasting some time in Accident and Emergency and getting exasperated by the state of the health system. For the last 9 days, I have been suffering from some very unpleasant skin sensations on one side of my back. The skin itches, tingles and burns (especially at night) yet there does not seem to be any outward signs of anything being wrong other than three smallish red bumps, which don’t appear to change as the days go by…

Initially, I concluded that I must have been bitten by something and intended to let my body deal with it, but as the symptoms worsened I attempted to make an appointment with my GP. No such luck! No appointments for like forever (over a week to be exact). So I went to a pharmacy and asked for a consultation, which was a waste of time as the pharmacist simply laughed at me as he could not see anything. Really, dude? I appreciate that the lack of obvious skin changes poses a difficulty for him, but he could have been a bit kinder about it. I did not appreciate being treated as a hypochondriac.

When the itching got so bad that it woke me up at 4 AM on Sunday and kept me awake till dawn, I got a bit more desperate. I decided to try my luck in a hospital walk-in centre for minor injuries. 2 hrs of waiting later, I wish I hadn’t. I got told that it is not an emergency and I need to see my GP. Grrr, thanks a bunch! Well, my GP appointment is finally coming up this Thursday and I am praying for this stubborn thing to either go away or at least get much worse or else I won’t get any medical help again.

Vietnamese Tofu Pork Stuffed Tofu In Tomato Sauce

To distract myself from my back, I’ve been cooking lots and this dish is the first one I’m excited to share with you. Like a few other recipes on this website, this dish was inspired by an extremely disappointing version I had recently at a restaurant. It sounded marvellous on the menu, but it did not live up to expectations. It was completely unseasoned and lacked any flavour whatsoever. The experience has inspired me to try and create a tastier version of it in my own kitchen and I am really happy with the outcome. Since I had lots of lemongrass stalks in my fridge (from my last trip to the Asian greengrocers where I tend to get overexcited and buy too much) I really went for it and used 5 lemongrass stalks in the sauce and I think that it is pretty well balanced, but you can probably get away with just 4 (I know that they tend to sell them in twos in UK supermarkets).

Traditionally, the tofu gets fried for this Vietnamese-inspired dish before it gets immersed in the flavoursome sauce, but if, like me, you are a little oil-phobic, I recommend baking the tofu in the oven instead. My rationale is that it makes the dish healthier and since the tofu gets served in the sauce it loses its crispy texture very quickly anyway, so you won’t miss out that much. Having said that, I did fry it for the photos as it simply looks better and that’s always an important consideration when it comes to the food photography.

If you make this recipe please tag me on Instagram using the # hashtag and @. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls With Black Pepper Tofu

*Traditionally this sauce is flavoured with pungent fish sauce. If, like me, you have trouble finding a decent vegan equivalent, but enjoy the umami taste it adds, simply put one dried shiitake mushroom and a small piece of kombu into the sauce when it simmers. If you prefer a cleaner lemongrass flavour, skip both.

Join our mailing list and we we will let you know when we publish a new recipe. You'll receive our DELIGHTFUL DESSERTS E-BOOK as a thank you for supporting us.Vietnamese fried tofu is a gloriously simple and tasty dish that combines a hot, salty, sweet and sour tomato sauce with crispy tofu!

This recipe sees two rarities combined here on my site… The first is a recipe that uses tofu and the second sees me cook a recipe from a book.

Best Vietnamese Style Tofu With Gingery Tomato Sauce Recipe

A book that so enamoured me, it has me working away on my own Vietnamese variations. My Vietnamese chicken curry, is very much a follow-on from this recipe.

It has only started to appear here fairly recently and I am a definite convert! My Chinese hot and sour soup uses it in a very different way. But my sweet and sour tofu, salt and pepper tofu and teriyaki tofu recipe embrace the fried or seared tofu idea.

My gochujang tofu takes another different approach and simmers it in a sauce. This is a similar approach to the one that I use in both my matar paneer and palak paneer recipes!

Grilled Lemongrass And Coriander Marinated Vegan Tofu Banh Mi Recipe

I even have a breadcrumbed tofu katsu curry, a grilled tofu satay and I crumble it in my tofu noodle stir fry and tofu pasta recipes!

The earthiness of the tofu is amplified by frying it in this recipe. It is the perfect complement to the delicious spicy tomato sauce.

The second rarity is me cooking from a cookbook. This recipe comes from a book called the food of Vietnam by Luke Nguyen.

Vietnamese Braised Tofu & Mushrooms

I do cook from my large collection of cookbooks occasionally, but usually, those recipes go through many manifestations before they end up here.

Tofu can be a difficult ingredient to buy if you are uninitiated. This recipe does not aim to initiate you but allows you to make this recipe.

So go to the store and buy extra firm tofu. No flavours, not smoked, not marinated! Just plain old tofu, it will likely be in the refrigerator section.

Vietnamese Bun Cha Recipe

Many recipes call for you to press tofu, it was not mentioned in the recipe I used as a source for this. Being the curious soul that I am I did test pressing and it made no discernable difference. It is however important to dry the tofu well!

The source for this recipe recommends using fish sauce rather than soy sauce. I wanted to keep this recipe vegan and vegetarian so opted for soy sauce and it works wonderfully.

However, the fish sauce variant is exceptionally good and if meat-free is less important to you then you absolutely should give it a try.

Vietnamese Tofu And Garlic Chive Soup With Ground Pork (canh Dau Hu He Nau Thit Bam) — Vicky Pham

I think that this recipe is better cooked in an air fryer, the tofu is more crispy and feels lighter. But it is also spectacularly good fried in oil too!

I typically serve the deep-fried tofu recipe with plain white rice, it is the perfect vehicle to carry the spicy tomato sauce and not fight with it.

If you wanted a salad then something like this carrot and courgette salad would be perfect! It features crispy peanuts and a fantastic Vietnamese-influenced dressing.

Vegetarian Pho Soup (vietnamese Noodle Soup)

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

This Vietnamese fried tofu recipe with a spicy tomato sauce converted this tofu sceptic into an enthusiast, even if it just for this recipe!

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @brian and tell me how it went!

Vietnamese Noodle Bowls

I have to admit that I have never tried cooking tofu but after reading your post I'm interested. I think you brought up a good point that it is a simple ingredient and should be cooked that way.

I absolutely LOVE fried tofu. This recipes sounds just incredible - I definitely have to try frying the tofu on my own (I usually buy it that way). Loving the tomato sauce with thai chilies and fish sauce - YUM!

I have to admit I've never tried tofu before - it's not something I've ever fancied trying! But I think this recipe could make me change my mind! That sauce sounds incredible! Pinned and Yummed :-)

Stuffed Tofu In Tomato Sauce