Sesame Ginger Tofu Bowl with Kale Rice
I’m just a little sick of tomatoes in this moment. My garden is overflowing! I’ve been making salsa, putting them in salads, and eating them just straight with balsamic. I just need a quick break guys!
Tonight I made this delish tofu bowl. I make baked tofu all the time with the same process; press, marinade, bake. I don’t always go the extra step to make a sauce for the tofu, but ohhhhh man this is good.
The nice thing about marinating tofu is that the marinade is totally edible unlike a marinade involving raw meat. In this recipe the marinade full of garlic and ginger is repurposed by reducing it down on the stove top and then adding a slurry (cornstarch and water mixture often time used in Chinese cooking). It really adds an extra level of goodness to the tofu.
Have fun!
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbs soy sauce or tamari
- 1 Tbsp agave or honey
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1, 14 oz block firm tofu
- (in addition to remaining marinade)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice, cooked
- 3-4 cups chopped kale
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- sesame seeds to garnish
- Remove tofu from liquid and set between two plates lined generously with paper towels. Put a small jar of jelly or a can of beans or something with a little weight on top. Let press in the fridge for 30 mins to an hour.
- Combine marinade ingredients in a baking dish. Cut tofu into slices about 1/2 inch thick and then into 1-2 inch pieces. Lay in even layer in marinade. Let marinade a minimum of one hour on each side, and up to 3 hours on each side.
- When tofu is ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- While oven is preheating start cooking rice (I use my rice cooker).
- Making sure to reserve leftover marinade, lay out tofu on parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Cook 12-15 mins on one side, or until it starts to brown on the bottom side and get a little crispy. Turn over tofu and cook another 12 mins or so until desired doneness, and crispy on both sides.
- While tofu is cooking heat leftover marinade in a small pot over medium-high heat, and add soy sauce. Let sauce simmer until reduced by about 1/2.
- In a separate bowl mix cornstarch into water until dissolved and then add to simmering sauce. Reduce heat to low-medium and let sauce thicken up again, which should only take about a minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile, toss chopped kale with sesame oil and salt in a large mixing bowl. When rice is done let it cool for a few minutes and then put warm rice on top. Combine.
- When tofu is done, let it cool about 3 mins. Combine tofu and sauce in a medium bowl and serve over rice serving with more sauce over top and garnishing with sesame seeds.
- You could also use bok choy or cooked broccoli in place of the kale.
August 13, 2017 @ 4:21 am
Being an old-fashioned kind of man,with a typical diet of meat, potatoes, and beer…tofu and kale is daunting, but you make it sound delicious 😋
August 8, 2020 @ 7:08 pm
Delicious, if a little salty (not that I mind salt!). A few notes — there’s a letter missing in the amount of soy sauce for the marinade. I read it as tsp vs. tbsp (it says tbs). So I didn’t have much marinade left over for the next step. I don’t think it would have mattered anyway though — there was only enough marinade to coat the tofu as it “steeped.” Also, I put it the tofu and marinade in a large zip lock bag to infuse, which was easier than putting it in a pan and flipping it. Aside from all this, we loved the dish and would make it again. I’ll look for lower-salt alternatives to mix with the soy sauce next time.
April 29, 2023 @ 6:17 pm
Its waaaayyy too salty… the tofu is already soaked with a soy sauce marinade that is very salty, so adding salt to the kale really makes the meal feeling like eating a spoonful of salt in my opinion, I would suggest first timers not to add salt to the kale, and then adjust if needed.