Easy 7 ingredient vegan lemongrass tofu
Easy, flaourful side of tofu flavoured with lemongrass and garlic.
Equipment
- I use standard measuring cups to measure ingredients in my recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 pack firm or extra-firm tofu or use fried tofu instead
- ½ tbsp oil plus ½ tsp
- 1½ tbsp lemongrass finely minced, about 2 stalks
- 1½ tbsp garlic finely chopped, about 4 big cloves
- 2 stalks green/spring onion or use shallots/onions
- ½ tbsp soy sauce naturally brewed whenever possible
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce optional, use extra soy sauce instead.
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes adjust to suit your taste. Can use fresh chillies instead.
Instructions
Prepare the tofu. Skip this step if using fried tofu.
- Pressing tofu means wrapping tofu in a thick kitchen towel and placing something heavy on top for about 15 minutes or more, so that all the excess water drains out and you are left with super firm tofu.
- Once pressed, cut the tofu into pieces of desired shape, not more than an inch thick so that they can absorb the flavours well.
- Take a pan with a non stick surface and in half tsp of oil, roast the tofu.
- When one surface develops a skin (gets browned) flip and cook the other side.
Prepare lemongrass
- Remove the hard part at the bottom and cut off the top. Retain the part in between the two red lines. Rest of it is too woody to be used in lemongrass tofu.
- Remove the tougher outer layers of the lemongrass. Inner portion of the stalk is more tender than the outer layers.
- Slice the inner core of the lemongrass into thin slices. Then using a knife, mince it fine like shown in the picture. You can also use a chopper/food processor for this task.
Make lemongrass tofu
- Heat a wok or a pan on medium heat. Add oil.
- Add chopped lemongrass, garlic, white part of green/spring onions. If using fresh green chillies, now would be the time to add it.
- When onion wilts and the raw smell of garlic goes away, add the tofu.
- Add soy sauce and red pepper flakes.
- Stir until the sauce gets absorbed.
- Taste and add more soy sauce if required.
- Serve with plain rice, fried rice, in bahn mi sandwich or as a part of an Asian inspired salad.
Video
Notes
- I have made this several times by just wrapping the block of tofu in a thick kitchen towel without a weight on top and for me, that works fine too.
- Tofu can also be pressed by using a device called 'tofu press' that's available online. I do not own one and always use a kitchen towel and my cast iron pan for weight.
- Unused parts of the lemongrass can be chopped into 1 inch pieces and frozen. Can be used to make lemongrass tea, masala chai, soups etc.