Silken Tofu, Spicy Savory Heaven in Seven Simple Minutes

If you regularly make meals out of ripping open a bag of chips and eating them while standing at the counter, then this Silken Tofu is for you. It's as simple as peeling open a package of tofu and mixing together a few ingredients for a savory, super flavorful sauce. Silken Tofu is great as an appetizer or a light meal. Shall we?

What is Silken Tofu

Silken tofu is the softest, silkiest textured version of tofu.

By itself, tofu has a fairly subtle, if not near perfectly neutral flavor, similar to the way chicken has a very neutral flavor in the animal protein world. This makes tofu a great foundation for highly-palatable marinades, glazes, sauces, and dips.

This recipe calls for silken tofu served "fresh" without cooking, covered with a garlicky, spicy, soy-based sauce.

Is Silken Tofu Healthy?

Depending on your health needs and dietary considerations, Silken Tofu can be healthy! To be honest, I can't really think of a case in which Silken Tofu would not be healthy, unless maybe the gentle acid in the vinegar causes heartburn or other gastric issue for you, or you are sensitive to the sodium in tamari/soy sauce.

Health and Dietary Considerations of Silken Tofu

As published, this recipe for Silken Tofu is:

• 100% plant-based, suitable for vegans
• vegetarian
• dairy-free
• gluten-free/wheat-free
• grain-free
• sugar-free

This recipe as presented is gluten-free, wheat-free and grain-free because I use a gluten-free tamari. If you cook and eat gluten-/grain-/wheat-free, make sure to read the label of your tamari and/or soy sauce.

What Ingredients You Need for Silken Tofu

Silken Tofu fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• silken/soft tofu, 1 package
• garlic, 2 cloves minced
• green onion, 1 stalk finely sliced
• jalapeño pepper, 1, finely sliced

Silken Tofu dry/pantry ingredients:

• tamari/soy sauce, 2 tablespoons
• rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon
• gochugaru, 1 teaspoon
• sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
• toasted sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon

Instructions for How to Make Silken Tofu

Drain and Prep the Tofu First

Drain any excess water from the tofu.

Invert the tofu onto a plate with high sides or into a shallow bowl. Tilt the plate or bowl to allow extra liquid drain away from tofu for a few minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Use paper towels to soak up any excess liquid.

Slice tofu if you'd like.

Make Sauce and Serve Silken Tofu

Whisk the tamari, brown rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a bowl to blend. Pour over silken tofu.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, extra sliced green onions, and serve.

Serve the Silken Tofu with Sauce chilled, warmed, or room temperature. Silken Tofu with sauce will keep for 1 day, covered and refrigerated. We never have leftovers.

What Kind of Tofu is Best for this Preparation?

Ingredients Notes and Resources

Soy sauce or tamari: Tamari is Japanese-style soy sauce very often brewed without the use of wheat so it is gluten-free. I use this brand, which is organic. Buy organic or non-GMO soy-based products (soy sauce, tofu, soy milk, etc), since soy beans are one of the crops that are more often sprayed with harmful weed-killing chemicals.

Rice vinegar. I use this brand organic brown rice vinegar. If you don't have rice vinegar, use any other light/mild vinegar like apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.

Gochugaru is a chili pepper powder made from an actual Korean variety of chili pepper. Its heat level ranges, but is generally considered medium spicy. You can find gochugaru in Korean grocery stores like H-Mart, other Asian groceries, and even some independent spice companies like this and this at Whole Foods. This organic brand purchased at HMart, is what I have in my pantry.

Sesame oil. Look for toasted sesame oil, which is darker and has deeper umami flavor. As a finishing oil rather than a cooking oil, it is added to dishes in small amounts just before serving. This is Japanese brand I've been using since I was a kid. There are now many brands of toasted sesame seed oil available, even organic, at regular grocery stores.

Toasted Sesame Seeds add texture and a layer of umami in addition to the toasted sesame oil. You can buy sesame seeds plain or toasted. Make sure the seeds are toasted. Otherwise, toss them in a hot, dry skillet over medium heat for about 90 seconds or until they are fragrant.

Garlic, ginger, green onions and all other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, Mar Vista Farmers Market on Sunday, or Whole Foods Market.

Pro Tips and Techniques for Silken Tofu

1. Make double or triple the sauce! The sauce tastes so good, you will probably want to eat Silken Tofu a few more times the same week so make extra! It will keep in an airtight container in the frig for up to a week. You can also use the sauce as a marinade for firmer tofu similar to this, tossed with stir-fried vegetables or noodles.
2. Cut holes in the bottom of the tofu package to help the tofu slip out of the package. It works like letting air into a sealed package to release the vacuum.
3. Let the silken tofu drain for 5-10 minutes. This step in the recipe is not absolutely required, but draining the silken tofu whether in the package or on the plate to let some more liquid drain out will keep the sauce flavor concentrated.
4. Leave the tofu block whole! Silken Tofu has the texture of a custard, so if you leave the tofu block whole, you can simply use a spoon to scoop out little wiggly blobs with some of the sauce.
5. On tofu serving sizes: I generally allot 6-8 oz (half a pound) of tofu for each serving, which amounts to half a block of tofu.

Tools and Equipment

 

Storage

Once dressed with sauce, Silken Tofu, will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Tofu does not freeze well.

FAQ

baked marinated tofu shiitake mushroom lettuce cups

pan-fried marinated tofu and avocado in lettuce cups

marinated tofu in cabbage and lettuce cups with kimchi salsa

Other Ideas to Top Silken Tofu

Many Asian cuisines have versions of silken tofu served chilled like Japanese hiyayakko and Chinese liangban tofu. The tofu blocks are left whole or sliced, sometimes cut artfully with shaped cutters. Specific toppings vary, but they all have one thing in common: high degree of flavor. This recipe relies on umami from soy sauce, heat, and flavor from garlic and green onions, but there are so many other ways to customize this sauce by adding ingredients. Or, abandon the sauce completely in favor of something totally different. Tofu is, after all, a blank canvas. Here are some ideas:

• julienned aromatic herbs like Thai basil, cilantro, mint, and shiso
• seaweed like crumbled toasted nori
• furikake
• hot sauces like sriracha or sambal oelek
• chili crisp
• finely chopped kimchi or radish kimchi
• fermented pickled Chinese vegetables
• hoisin and chopped peanuts

The tofu is so awesome, it now has a permanent position on The Delicious Life List.

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Silken Tofu with Sauce Recipe

Makes 1 block of marinated tofu, enough for 2 as a light meal or snack

Prep Time4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Total Time4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: asian, Japanese, korean

Keyword: silken tofu, soft tofu, tofu

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 14-ounce package of silken soft tofu some brands' packages may be 12 or 16 ounces, which is totally fine

Silken Tofu Sauce Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic grated
• 1 green onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon gochugaru or other hot chile flakes
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 jalapeño pepper finely chopped or sliced

Instructions

Prep Silken Tofu

• Drain the tofu over the sink. Invert tofu onto a plate with high sides. Slice tofu if preferred.
• Soak up any excess water from plate with paper towels. It's ok if there is some liquid.

Make Silken Tofu Sauce and Serve

• Whisk 2 tablespoons tamari, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, minced garlic, sliced green onion, 1 teaspoon gochugaru, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, and chopped jalapeño pepper if using in a small bowl or glass measuring cup to blend. Pour the sauce over the tofu.
• Serve the Silken Tofu lightly chilled or at room temeprature.

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