Vietnamese-Inspired Cabbage Salad With Tofu
Updated August 29, 2025
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lime
½ jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons peanut oil
½ pound extra-firm tofu, cut into slabs, ¾ inch thick
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, grated
⅓ cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts, plus more to serve
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more to serve
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
16 grams carbs; 290 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1093 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 7 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
- Step 1
To make vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce, lime zest and juice, jalapeño and garlic. Whisk in 3 tablespoons peanut oil.
- 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 1 ½ 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.
- Step 3
In a large bowl, toss together tofu, cabbage, carrot, peanuts, cilantro and vinaigrette. Garnish with more peanuts and cilantro.
Private Notes
Comments
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.
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!
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.
This was a great recipe that is a nice vegan meal if you just eliminate the fish sauce. You can use more soy sauce and/or rice wine vinegar.
I heavily tweaked this recipe: substituted grilled shrimp for tofu; added 1 T chopped fresh ginger and an additional clove of garlic to the vinaigrette; added thinly sliced radishes, Thai basil, and thinly sliced, chopped red onion to the salad. Fabulous! Could eat it every day.
This could be vegan if it weren't for the fish sauce! Anyone have good substitute recommendations?