Tofu sisig
Crispy chopped tofu tossed with onion, chilies, soy and lots of lime until it sizzles, the Filipino bar favorite made meatless and piled over rice.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.75 a serving
- 830 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 2 limes, juiced
- 2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 830 calories, 34 g protein, 102 g carbs and 34 g fat, and costs about $2.75 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 red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
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
Meanwhile, the rice and bring it in a small with the water and 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
Cut the tofu into ½-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.
Dolly’s tip: Small pieces mean more crispy edges, which is what sisig is all about.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, stirring every couple of minutes, until and , about 10 minutes.
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: 10 min
Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
Turn the heat to medium, add the last tablespoon of oil and half the onion, and cook about 3 minutes, until soft. Keep the other half raw for crunch.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Add the garlic and jalapeño and stir 1 minute, .
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
Turn the heat to high, return the tofu, and pour in the soy sauce and half the lime juice. about 1 minute, until it sizzles and the pan is almost dry.
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.
High heatTimer: 1 min
Take the pan off the heat and in the raw onion, the rest of the lime juice, the pepper and green onions. Serve over the rice.
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.
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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