Tofu adobo
Crispy tofu braised in the Filipino classic of soy sauce, vinegar, lots of garlic, bay leaves and black pepper until glossy and tangy, spooned over plenty of rice.
- 55 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.78 a serving
- 620 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 4 servings.
- 2 packages extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¾ cups water, divided
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
Each serving has about 620 calories, 31 g protein, 71 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $1.78 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 green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Wrap both blocks of tofu in a clean towel, side by side, and press them under something heavy for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Meanwhile, the rice and bring it in a with 2¼ 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 18 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on until you serve.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Cut the tofu into 1-inch and with the cornstarch.
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.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat.
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 heat
Fry the tofu in two batches, turning every few minutes, until on most sides, about 8 minutes a batch.
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.
Medium-high heatTimer: 8 min
Dolly’s tip: Crowded tofu steams instead of browning. Two batches is worth it.Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
to medium, add the last tablespoon of oil and the garlic, and stir about 1 minute, until at the edges and .
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.
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.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the soy sauce, vinegar, ½ cup water, brown sugar, bay leaves and pepper. and let it bubble 2 minutes without stirring.
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.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Filipino cooks let the vinegar boil for a moment before stirring so its sharp edge cooks off.Return the tofu and 5 to 7 minutes, turning the pieces now and then, until the sauce has by about half and coats the tofu.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Reduce. Reducing means simmering a liquid with the lid off so some of the water steams away. The sauce gets thicker and its flavor gets stronger.
How you’ll know: The level drops in the pan, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon instead of running off.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Fish out the bay leaves and spoon the tofu and sauce over the rice, with green onions on top.
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.
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