Teriyaki tofu
Chewy, golden tofu glazed in a quick homemade teriyaki that turns sticky in the pan, with broccoli and rice, and it packs well for lunch tomorrow.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.09 a serving
- 790 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cups frozen broccoli
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
From your pantry
- 1¾ cups water, divided
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tsp cornstarch, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
Each serving has about 790 calories, 35 g protein, 104 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.09 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No frozen broccoli? Broccoli works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it under something heavy for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Pressing squeezes out water so the teriyaki sticks to the tofu instead of sliding off.Meanwhile, the rice and bring it in a small with 1½ cups water and the salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
the tofu dry, cut it into 1-inch , and with the remaining 1 tablespoon 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.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
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.
Put the frozen broccoli and 2 tablespoons water in a large nonstick , cover, and cook over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes, until hot and bright green. Tip it onto a plate.
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.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Wipe the pan dry, add the oil, and heat until it . Cook the tofu in one layer, turning every few minutes, until and , about 12 minutes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
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: 12 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave each side alone until it lets go of the pan on its own.Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
to medium, stir the sauce, and pour it over the tofu. for 1 to 2 minutes, until it into a sticky .
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
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.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
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.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Sugar burns fast, so keep things moving and take the pan off the heat as soon as it’s sticky.Spoon the rice into bowls and top with the tofu, broccoli and sesame seeds.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Microwave Korean braised tofu (dubu jorim)
15 min
Air fryer sesame tofu
45 min
Mongolian tofu
45 min
Tofu adobo
55 min
High-protein dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with rice and tofu ›What to make with rice and broccoli ›