Cold Silken Tofu with Chili Soy Sauce

Topped with fresh, crunchy scallions, cold silken tofu with chili soy sauce is the perfect 2-minute protein-filled snack.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this dish
• What tofu should I use?
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Variations
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Why you'll love this dish

• Quick and easy: If you can grab the ingredients quick enough, this can take less than 3 minutes. Simply mix the sauce ingredients into a bowl with your chopsticks, and pour over the silken tofu. You're set!
• Full of protein & healthy: With the sauce, this silken tofu dish is delicious enough to eat entirely on its own. If you can finish this dish in one sitting, you'll definitely be hitting your protein goals for the day.
• Vegetarian-friendly: The ingredients are simple and vegetarian/vegan friendly. It's a great dish for everyone to enjoy as the tofu soaks in all the flavors.
• Refreshing: By using the silken tofu right out of the fridge, this dish is so refreshing on a hot day. Silken tofu is extremely versatile and is often used in vegan sauce, smoothies, and even to make non-dairy "ice cream", no wonder it tastes so great with a savory sauce!

If those reasons aren't enough to convince you, you'll just have to make this dish in the next couple of minutes to prove my point!

What tofu should I use?

While this recipe calls for silken tofu, you might not always be able to find it at your neighborhood grocery store, so you can opt for soft tofu. Both tofus are creamy and have much higher water content the other types of tofus. Sometimes grocery stores will sell firm silken tofu, don't mistake this for firm tofu!

Unfortunately, you cannot use medium or firm tofu for this dish! While it's the same ingredient, you just won't be getting the same mouthful as you would if you were to use silken tofu or soft tofu.

Want to try other delicious tofu recipes, try my Kimchi Mushroom Soft Tofu Stew (Vegetarian). If you want to try your hand with firm tofu, try my Sweet and Sour Tofu recipe.

Ingredients

The key to the recipe is obviously the sauce!

• Silken or soft tofu: Look for silken or soft tofu, which have higher water content than firm or extra firm tofu. Silken tofu will provide the maximum amount of creaminess necessary for this dish.
• Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce is the usual soy sauce that you find at grocery stores, you can also use the low sodium version.
• Sesame oil
• Chili sauce: My favorite brand is Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp. However, you can also use Lao Gan Ma chili oil with fermented black bean or any other chili sauce/chili crisp of your choice.
• Sugar/honey
• Scallions
• Toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

There's really no right or wrong for this recipe, all of these ingredients can be played up or down according to your personal preferences (especially when it comes to spice levels).

Instructions

1. Cut open packaging of tofu by slitting two connecting sides. Hold the package over the top. Keeping your hand over the top film, flip the package over so it drains completely from the slit you've cut.
2. Remove tofu from package and set onto a plate. Choose a plate that has a bit of an edge so the sauce doesn't completely slide off.
3. Mix the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sugar, and chili sauce to make the sauce. Then gently stir in the chopped scallions.
4. Pour the sauce generously over the tofu. Optionally, top with toasted sesame seeds.

Variations

Less spicy: Feel free to adjust the amount of chili sauce used in the recipe. Start by using only ¼ of a tablespoon and continue to add until the spice levels are tolerant. Taste the sauce before pouring it over the tofu.

📖 Recipe