Vegan steamed tofu with mushrooms

Easy and super tasty silken tofu recipe with steamed tofu topped with pan seared mushrooms, roasted peanuts and soy sauce.

Various cultures have their versions of steamed silken tofu with traditional toppings. This one here is my not so traditional recipe with lots of mushrooms, garlic, cilantro and loaded with roasted peanuts, my love for peanuts is never ending! If you haven’t tried silken tofu already, you should! I love it’s texture, so smooth and creamy, almost pudding like, it melts in the mouth! Calling all tofu lovers AND haters to try this one out! Silken tofu recipes like this one may turn the hate to love!

I first tried steamed tofu at a Vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Houston’s Chinatown. Houston has a great vegetarian Asian food scene with plenty of Asian restaurants that are exclusively vegetarian/vegan. Their steamed silken tofu had a mild flavour topped with soy sauce and scallions. When I wanted to try it out at home, I wanted to make it taste bolder and what better way than to use mushrooms, chilies and lots of peanuts?!

FAQs

What is silken tofu?

Silken tofu is coagulated soy milk. To make silken tofu, soy milk is coagulated without separating the curds which means it is also undrained and un-pressed, the preparation method is similar to setting yogurt. Regular tofu on the other hand is prepared like cheese, where the soy curd is separated from soymilk, drained and then pressed to remove water. Silken tofu is delicate, smooth and almost jelly like. Hence, it cannot stand up to being used in stir fries/fried rice. Silken tofu is available soft and firm but even firm silken tofu is so much softer than regular tofu.

How to cook silken tofu?

Unlike regular tofu, you cannot ‘press’ the water out of silken tofu. Steaming silken tofu for 7-10 minutes reduces some of the beany taste. It can be served with savory toppings like this recipe. Silken tofu is also served as a dessert in various cultures topped with brown sugar syrup or ginger syrup which I personally love! It is also used in many Korean soups(jjigae). In modern cooking, silken tofu is used as an egg substitute and a dairy substitute in smoothies, dips, frittata, quiche etc. ‘Firm‘ silken tofu is fairly strong enough to be added into curries and can be used in mapo tofu.

Where to buy silken tofu?

In North America, silken tofu can easily be found in Asian grocery stores and also at other health food chains. They are available refrigerated in plastic cartons and also unrefrigerated in Tetra Pak packaging. Look for the unrefrigerated ones in Asian aisles of health food stores.

What can I use instead of silken tofu?

Regular soft tofu is the closest to silken tofu. Although the texture is not quite the same, this recipe can be made with soft tofu.

Ingredients

• Silken tofu – If silken tofu is impossible to find, soft tofu can be used although the texture is not quite the same as silken tofu.
• Mushrooms – Use your favourite kind of mushrooms including but not limited to baby bella, white, oyster mushrooms and shitake.
• Stir fry sauce – Stir fry sauces are soy based sauces that are thick and sweet with added flavourings like garlic and mushroom. Use your favourite one!
• Soy sauce – I always like to use ‘naturally brewed’ soy sauce. Reduced- sodium soy sauce works great in this recipe. Different soy sauces have varying degrees of saltiness. Be mindful of that and use as needed.
• Peanuts – Roasted peanuts add SO much flavor!
• Herbs – I like to use a mix of cilantro and green onions. Thai basil would work well too!
• Aromatics – Garlic, scallion and fresh chillies. I like this dish spicy so I like to use Thai chillies in this recipe.

Serving suggestion

Serve steamed tofu hot/warm with rice.

Check out these other tofu recipes from the blog!

• Vegan lemongrass tofu
• Vegan panang curry
• Vegan Kale with tofu
• Vegan Thai basil fried rice
• Vegan gochujang fried rice

Vegan steamed tofu with mushrooms

Shwetha

Steamed silken tofu topped with pan seared mushrooms, roasted peanuts and soy sauce.

4 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting time 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 16 oz silken tofu 1 lb/454 grams. Soft tofu can be used instead.
• 1¼ cup finely chopped mushrooms like baby bella, oyster, shitake.
• ¼ cup peanuts/groundnut roasted
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 stalk green onion/spring onion optional
• 1 Thai chilli or any other variety to suit your taste
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves/cilantro chopped
• 1½ tbsp soy sauce naturally brewed whenever possible
• 1 tbsp stir fry/mushroom sauce
• ½ tsp sugar optional
• 1 tbsp oil

Instructions

 

• In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast the peanuts on medium heat, stirring often, until the outside turns golden.

  NOTE: Take care of the heat as too much heat can burn the outside but the inside will remain raw.
• Turn the pack of silken tofu upside down and puncture the plastic on all 4 sides using a knife. This will allow air to pass through and helps the silken tofu release from the pack without breaking. Turn it right side up and peel away the plastic on top. Run a knife around the edges of the pack to further help tofu release from the pack.
  
• Place a heat safe bowl over the pack of tofu and turn it over to release the tofu into the bowl.
• Run a knife through the tofu and cut it into bite sized pieces. While this step is optional, the cuts allow the sauce to flow through for a more even seasoning of the tofu.
• Rest the silken tofu for 5-10 minutes to let the water release from the tofu. Carefully drain this water out. Any remaining water can be blotted using a paper towel/clean cotton towel.
  
• Set up a steamer or a big pot with 2-3 cups of water and bring the water to a gentle boil. Place the bowl with tofu inside the steamer. Cover and steam for 7-10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• While the tofu is steaming prepare ingredients for the topping. Finely chop the mushrooms, garlic, green onions and cilantro/coriander leaves.
• In a heavy bottomed 9-10 inch skillet, heat 2½ tsp of oil on medium heat and add in the finely chopped mushrooms. Don't stir just yet. Let one side develop a golden crust before turning the mushrooms over.
• When most of the mushrooms turn golden, push the mushrooms to the side and add in the garlic, chilli and white part of green onion. Add ½ tsp of oil over it if needed and stir till the raw smell of garlic goes away.
  
• Turn off the heat and add 1 tbsp of stir fry sauce and cilantro/coriander leaves. Mix everything well.
• Open the steamer and carefully remove the bowl and drain the water collected around tofu.

  NOTE: If you cannot safely remove the hot bowl from the steamer, blot the collected water using a clean kitchen towel.
  
• Spoon the mushrooms over the tofu. Pour the soy sauce all over, if using sugar mix in the sugar with soy sauce. Top with roasted peanuts, green onions and fresh cilantro/coriander leaves.
  
• Serve with rice.

Video

Notes

• Salt content and flavor of soy sauce may differ depending on the brand. You may start with 1 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce and add more if needed.
• Some silken tofu especially the ones that come in tubes in Asian markets may be too soft to retain any shape. Silken tofu that come in plastic tubs or in tetra pak can hold their shape when released carefully. 
• A big pot with a trivet can work as a steamer. Instant pot can be used too. 
• Do not over crowd the mushrooms as they can get steamed and release water instead of developing a golden crust.
• For an elegant presentation, top the mushrooms with only 1-2 tbsp of roasted peanuts. Serve the rest as a side.

VARIATIONS

You can play with the toppings and make it your own. Examples – Korean inspired(finish with sesame oil and sesame seeds) or Thai inspired(add ginger along with garlic and sugar) Vietnamese(add lemongrass along with garlic). It’s so much fun! 

Keyword silken tofu recipes, steamed tofu