Crispy tofu banh mi
Golden soy-glazed tofu, quick-pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro and sriracha mayo in a crusty roll, a vegetarian sandwich you build at your desk so it stays crisp.
- 35 min total
- 18 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.17 a serving
- 570 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount and pack the rest for the next few days.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups shredded carrots
- 1 package extra-firm tofu
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp sriracha
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro, sprigs
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Each serving has about 570 calories, 22 g protein, 61 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.17 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No shredded carrots? Carrots work.
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No hoagie rolls? French bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the vinegar, sugar and salt in a jar until dissolved, then add the carrots and press them under.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: They pickle while you cook. Twenty minutes makes them tangy, and a day makes them even better.the tofu dry with a towel, cut it into ½-inch slices, and them gently with the cornstarch.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat and cook the tofu 4 to 5 minutes per side, until and .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave it alone while it browns. Tofu that’s moved too soon sticks and tears.Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Turn off the heat, add the soy sauce and brown sugar, and turn the tofu until it’s .
Glaze. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating, often sweet, brushed or spooned over food near the end. It adds shine and flavor, and because it has sugar, it can burn quickly.
How you’ll know: The food looks shiny and evenly coated, sticky at the edges but not blackened.
the mayonnaise and sriracha together, and the cucumber.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Let the tofu cool, then pack it with the carrots, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño in one container and the sriracha mayo in a small one.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
At lunch, split a roll, spread it with sriracha mayo, and fill it with tofu, carrots, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño.
Dolly’s tip: Packing the roll on its own is what keeps it crusty. Everything else keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop plans your lunches along with the week’s dinners, puts what you need on the same grocery list, and walks you through each step.
