Sweet Chile Grain Bowl With Tofu

By Melissa Clark

Updated January 6, 2024

  • Two white bowls hold cooked grains topeed with marinated cherry tomatoes and roasted sweet chile tofu and cabbage.
    David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(2,556)
Comments
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You can use any kind of cooked grain as the base of this colorful, deeply flavored tofu and cabbage bowl. The grains, vegetables and tofu add texture, heft and protein, but the real star is the pungent sauce, a mix of chile crisp, garlic and soy sauce sweetened with ketchup. Brushed onto the tofu and cabbage before roasting, the sauce caramelizes and mellows. Drizzled on top of the bowl right at the end, it stays bright and snappy. Fresh cherry tomatoes tossed with more chile crisp make a juicy, spicy garnish, but you can leave them out if you don’t have any on hand.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm or extra-firm tofu

  • ¼ cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed

  • 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced

  • ¼ cup ketchup

  • 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (or substitute an umami seasoning, such as Yondu or coconut amino acids, or more soy sauce)

  • 1 tablespoon chile crisp, more to taste

  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

  • 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt, more to taste

  • 1 ½ pounds napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, cored and sliced crosswise ½ inch thick

  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

  • 1 lime, cut into wedges (or use more rice wine vinegar)

  • 4 cups cooked grains (rice, farro, barley, millet or whatever else you have on hand) or salad greens

  • Chopped cilantro, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

20 grams carbs; 283 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1141 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

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

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Cut the tofu into 1-inch-thick slabs. Cut each slab in half to make squares. Line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels and place tofu on top. Place another layer of paper towels on the tofu and weigh down with a skillet or cans. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    While the tofu is draining, make the sauce: Heat the oil in a small pot or skillet over medium-high. Stir in the garlic and let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in ketchup, soy sauce, fish sauce, ½ tablespoon of the chile crisp and the rice vinegar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

  4. Step 4

    In a small bowl, mix together the tomatoes, the remaining ½ tablespoon chile crisp and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

  5. Step 5

    Place tofu on one side of the prepared baking sheet and generously brush both sides of the pieces with the sauce.

  6. Step 6

    Add the cabbage to a bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and toss with ¼ cup sauce. (Reserve remaining sauce for serving.) Spread cabbage on the other side of the baking sheet in an even layer.

  7. Step 7

    Roast tofu and cabbage for about 30 minutes, tossing the cabbage after 15 minutes. The tofu should be lightly golden at the edges and the cabbage tender and bronzed. Toss about half of the scallions into the cabbage and squeeze lime wedges over everything (or drizzle with a little rice vinegar). Taste cabbage and add more salt or sauce, if needed.

  8. Step 8

    To serve, put 1 cup grains in each of 4 bowls. Drizzle the grains with a little of the sauce. Top with tofu, cabbage and spicy tomatoes. Garnish with cilantro and remaining scallions, and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,556 user ratings
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Comments

Bks4JHB

We loved this! We doubled the sauce, and tossed the tofu in the pan with half of it and the cabbage in a bowl with the other. Much easier than brushing sauce on each little square of tofu. We also subbed Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of fish sauce.

Jana

What can I substitute for chili crisp?

Penny

If you have a Trader Joe's near you they have Chili Crisp in a little jar. It's amazing stuff!

ohio mama

maybe i bought the wrong kind of chili crisp. was not crazy about the sauce, and was not crazy about this dish.

A Party in Your Mouth

I think that I don't like Napa cabbage. The other flavors were ok. Nothing special for me. It was edible but not great. My husband didn't like it at all. He took a few bites and pushed the bowl away.

Canadian Cook

This was incredibly delicious. Things I would do differently next time: probably halve the amount of oil (was pretty oily and I think will taste just as good without). The cabbage really shrunk down so would load it up on the pan. I did separate the tofu and cabbage in pans as I doubled the recipe. Followed suggestions of others and doubled the sauce and didn’t regret it! Will definitely make again.

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