Vietnamese-Inspired Cabbage Salad With Tofu

By Melissa Clark

Updated Aug. 30, 2025

Vietnamese-Inspired Cabbage Salad With Tofu
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,293)
Comments
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Cabbages are the quintessential storage vegetable. You can cut a cabbage in quarters or thirds and use one piece at a time. The other hunks will keep, wrapped well in the vegetable crisper, for at least two weeks, and potentially a lot longer if you mist them with water every once in a while. That means you can buy one large cabbage and use it several times for different recipes, experiencing the deceptively versatile vegetable many ways. Fried tofu turns this Vietnamese-inspired slaw into more of a meal.

Featured in: A Good Appetite: Cabbage Flexes Its Muscles Three Ways

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3½tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 2teaspoons Asian fish sauce
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • ½jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • 4tablespoons peanut oil
  • ½pound extra-firm tofu, cut into slabs, ¾ inch thick
  • 6cups shredded cabbage
  • 1large carrot, grated
  • ⅓cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts, plus more to serve
  • 2tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more to serve
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

290 calories; 22 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 1093 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, 1½ teaspoons fish sauce, lime zest and juice, jalapeño and garlic. Whisk in 3 tablespoons peanut oil.

  2. Step 2

    Pat the tofu dry with paper towels. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick. When it shimmers, add the tofu. Cook 3 minutes without moving, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1½ tablespoons soy sauce and ½ teaspoon fish sauce. Move the tofu to a cutting board, and brush both sides of each slice generously with this mixture. Cut tofu into bite-size pieces.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, toss together tofu, cabbage, carrot, peanuts, cilantro and vinaigrette. Garnish with more peanuts and cilantro.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,293 user ratings
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Comments

Autumncook

Nice and crunchy. For the amount of cabbage, I would suggest adding the full 1 lb. pkg of tofu. It will be well incorporated. Just double the sauce for the tofu.

Margaret

I added a used sesame oil instead of peanut oil because it's what I had on hand. Also added a little bit of peanut butter and sambal oelek and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Delicious!

Marni

Delicious! I've made this twice and served this over softened pad thai noodles. A big hit in my house with kids and grown-ups alike.

Liesel

I used the NYT's Baked Tofu recipe by Kristina Felix - my go to. (I double the sauce and cornstarch and bake the tofu on parchment. No need for more oil.) I otherwise put this salad together as written, but added crispy noodles as a topping since we had some on hand. Delicious, quick, and easy cleanup!

Mickey

This looks so good, but extrememly high in sodium. Even low sodium sauces are too high in sodium for a restricted diet due to Menieres Disease. Any suggestions on a substitute for Soy Sauce/Fish Sauce?

Jenny

This is terrific. Used chopped coleslaw mix because that’s what I had, and I used the whole tofu (14oz) instead. I also refrigerated the salad while cooking the tofu. Added sambal oelek and topped with peanuts and pickled red onions. I didn’t have cilantro so left that out. Still delicious.

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