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You are here: Home / Entrees / Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

October 12, 2018

Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

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Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

There are lots of things to marinate tofu in but, to maximize flavor, you can always follow one approach for good results: water out, marinade in. If you don’t get out all of the moisture in the tofu, two things happen: the marinade can’t get all up in there, and the marinade gets all watered down. Don’t do this to tofu … cut it, then towel press it! Be like Tofu B.

Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

This marinade is a chunky+spicy blend of sambal, ginger, garlic, toasted sesame oil and other stuff. The tofu is marinated, then transferred to a hot cast iron pan to develop a little sear, then the marinade is dumped into the mix to slightly reduce and make a luscious sauce to serve alongside slightly wilted bok choy.

Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

Serve it with rice or noodles (or even mashed potatoes!) and a little vegan kimchi for some funky crunch on the side for a super fast+delicious weeknight dinner!

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Sambal and Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy


★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: erin wysocarski
  • Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings
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Ingredients

for the marinade + tofu

  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 3 TB toasted sesame oil
  • 2 TB soy sauce
  • 1 TB sambal
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 4–6 cloves garlic grated on a microplane grater
  • 1 piece of thumb-sized ginger, grated on a microplane grater
  • 1 block firm tofu, cut into 6–8 evenly sized slabs and towel pressed for about two hours

for the rest

  • 2–4 heads of baby bok choy, base sliced off
  • prepared rice or noodles
  • sesame seeds
  • scallions, thai chilis and/or vegan kimchi

 


Instructions

to make the marinade

  1. Combine all marinade ingredients except for the tofu in a medium-sized glass pyrex.
  2. Place the properly cut and pressed tofu into the marinade, flipping to cover on both sides. 
  3. Place into refrigerator for a few hours, flipping after 2 or 3 hours to ensure even coverage.

to cook the tofu + reduce the marinade

  1. Preheat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Place the tofu into the hot pan and allow to brown on one side (no more than 2-3 minutes per side). Flip and repeat on the other side.
  2. Remove the tofu, then pour the remaining marinade into the cast iron pan. Allow to sizzle until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

to prepare the bok choy

  1. Place the bok choy into an air fryer set at 350 until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. 
  2. You can alternatively wilt the bok choy in a hot pan with a little oil.

to serve

  1. Distribute the tofu onto two plates. Drizzle the reduced sauce over both. Add the bok choy and rice/noodles as desired, along with sesame seeds, sliced scallions and kimchi. Serve immediately.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes

If you made this recipe ...

Tag @olivesfordinner on Instagram and hashtag it #olivesfordinner ... thank you!

Sambal + Ginger Tofu with Air-Fried Bok Choy

Filed Under: Entrees, Green, Plant-Based Dinners, Tofu, Vegetable Sides Tagged With: garlic, ginger, tofu

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hannah says

    October 13, 2018 at 9:41 am

    I think there is a typo “1 piece of thumb-sized vinegar” should be ginger. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      October 13, 2018 at 9:51 am

      ha! Good catch, thanks Hannah. It’s fixed!

      Reply
  2. Nikki Kamminga says

    October 13, 2018 at 5:52 pm

    Looks amazing, I love tofu!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Ellen Rosenberg says

    November 21, 2018 at 8:47 am

    Place the tofu in the hot cast iron pan without any oil? It won’t stick?

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      November 21, 2018 at 9:30 am

      There is toasted sesame oil already in the marinade.

      Reply
  4. Jordan Sebastian says

    January 29, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    Thanks for sharing Erin. I love ginger tofu so much but haven’t tried it with air-fried bok choy. Will test it out this weekend.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

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Meet Erin

Hi, I'm Erin! I love creating original and delicious vegan recipes and sharing them here. I cook and photograph food with my husband Jeff in Boston. Read More…

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Hi, I'm Erin! I love creating original and delicious vegan recipes and sharing them here. I cook and photograph food with my husband Jeff in Boston. Read More…

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