Charred Brussels Sprout and Tofu Stir-Fry with Chile and Cider Vinegar
Halved brussels sprouts seared cut side down until blackened, tossed with crisped tofu, chile, and ginger in a sharp tamari and cider vinegar glaze.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Brussels sprouts are usually roasted, and roasting is fine, but a wok gets them somewhere an oven cannot. Direct contact with screaming hot metal blackens the cut face in about four minutes while the layers behind it stay green and squeaky, so you get char and crunch in the same bite. I make this on weeknights because the whole thing is twenty minutes at the stove, and because it uses one pan and a cutting board and nothing else. The sprouts do the heavy lifting and the tofu comes along for the ride. It is also the dish that changed the minds of two sprout skeptics in my house, which I mention only because years of roasting never managed it.
Everything here is about heat and stillness, which sound like opposites and are not. The tofu goes in first and is left alone until a skin forms, because tofu moved around early tears apart and never crisps. It comes out, the sprouts go in cut side down in a single layer and are also left alone, and only then does anything get tossed. The aromatics go in last and cook for under a minute, so the garlic stays sweet and the ginger stays sharp. Tamari and cider vinegar go in off the heat, hit the hot pan, and turn into a thin glaze rather than a puddle.
The eating is sharp and smoky and a little hot. Cider vinegar is unusual in a stir-fry and it is the thing people ask about, because it cuts through char in a way that rice vinegar is too polite to manage. The tofu is chewy at the edges and soft inside, the sprout leaves that fell off in the pan are almost like chips, and the chile builds slowly rather than hitting at once. It is one of the few dinners I am happy to eat straight from the pan standing at the counter. Serve it the minute it comes off the heat, because the char is at its best in the first five minutes and softens steadily after that.
Ingredients
- 21 oz firm tofu, pressed 20 minutes and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved through the stem
- 6 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths, white and green parts kept separate
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- A 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
- 2 jalapeno chiles, thinly sliced into rings, seeds left in
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Press and cube the tofu: Wrap the block in a clean towel, set a heavy pan on top, and leave it twenty minutes. Cut it into three-quarter-inch cubes and pat the cut faces dry. Pressing is not optional here, since water in the tofu turns to steam in the wok and steam is what stops a crust from forming.
- Crisp the tofu: Heat a wok or a heavy twelve-inch skillet over high until a drop of water skitters. Add the avocado oil, swirl, and lay the tofu in one layer. Leave it completely alone for four minutes, then turn the cubes and give them three or four minutes more, until at least two sides are golden and the surfaces feel firm. Move the tofu to a plate.
- Blacken the sprouts: Put the halved sprouts into the same pan cut side down, pressing them flat with a spatula so every face touches metal. Leave them undisturbed for four to five minutes. You want the flat faces deeply browned to nearly black and the loose outer leaves crisped and dark. That is flavor, and pale sprouts here taste of nothing.
- Toss and steam briefly: Toss the sprouts, add 2 tbsp water, and let it hiss and evaporate over about two minutes. This is what cooks the middles through while the outsides stay charred. Test one with the tip of a knife: it should give with a little resistance still there.
- Add the aromatics: Push the sprouts to the side, add the sesame oil, and drop in the garlic, ginger, jalapeno, scallion whites, and black pepper. Stir them in the oil for forty seconds, until they smell hot and sweet but before the garlic colors. Return the tofu and toss everything together.
- Glaze and finish: Pour the tamari and cider vinegar around the edge of the pan rather than into the middle, so they sizzle on the hot metal and reduce as they run in. Toss hard for thirty seconds until everything is coated and glossy. Off the heat, stir through the scallion greens and the sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Variations
- Black bean and garlic: Mash a tablespoon of fermented black beans into the aromatics for a deep salty funk that suits the char.
- Shrimp added: Add half a pound of peeled shrimp in the last ninety seconds, tossing until they curl and turn opaque.
- Peanut and lime: Swap the sesame seeds for crushed roasted peanuts and the cider vinegar for lime juice for a Southeast Asian turn.
- Cabbage in place of sprouts: Use wedges of green cabbage cut through the core, charred the same way, when sprouts are out of season.
- Numbing pepper: Add a quarter teaspoon of ground Sichuan pepper with the black pepper for a tingling, citrusy edge.
Storage & Leftovers
This keeps three days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. The char softens overnight and the sprouts lose their squeak, so the leftovers are a different and gentler dish. The tofu, on the other hand, gets better, because it keeps drinking up the tamari and vinegar.
Reheat in a dry skillet over high heat for three minutes, spread flat and left alone for the first two, which brings back some of the crisp edges. The microwave works but everything goes soft, and softness is the one thing this dish cannot afford.
I would not freeze it. Brussels sprouts turn to gray mush after thawing and frozen tofu changes texture completely and becomes spongy. If you want a head start, halve the sprouts and press and cube the tofu a day ahead and keep both cold in the refrigerator.
Notes & Tips
- Press the tofu properly: Twenty minutes under a heavy pan pulls out enough water to let a crust form. Skipping it gives you pale cubes that fall apart in the toss.
- Get the pan hotter than feels sensible: A stir-fry pan should be smoking faintly before the oil goes in. Anything cooler and the food releases water faster than the pan can drive it off.
- Cut side down, then leave it: Every time you stir the sprouts in the first four minutes you reset the browning. Press them flat and walk away.
- Vinegar goes down the side of the pan: Poured around the rim it hits hot metal and reduces on the way in. Poured into the middle it just wets everything.
- Have everything cut before you start: Once the pan is hot the whole dish takes about twelve minutes and there is no moment to go back to the cutting board.
- Save the loose leaves: The outer leaves that fall off while you halve the sprouts crisp into something like chips. Throw them in with the rest rather than binning them.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Tofu and brussels sprouts split the work in this pan. The tofu carries the protein and takes on the glaze, the sprouts bring the fiber and the char that gives the dish its character, and the sesame seeds and aromatics tie the two together.
- Tofu is made by setting soy milk with a calcium salt, which is why a firm block carries a surprising amount of calcium along with its complete plant protein. Pressed and seared hard, it turns chewy at the edges and stays custardy in the middle.
- Brussels sprouts are tight little cabbages, and that family connection is where their sulfur compounds and faint bitterness come from. They carry vitamin K and vitamin C in quantity, and charring the cut faces turns that bitterness into something sweet and nutty.
- Sesame seeds toasted in the residual heat of the pan bring a nutty crunch and a good amount of calcium, and scattering them at the very end rather than during the cooking keeps them from turning bitter.
- Ginger, garlic, chile, and cider vinegar are what make this taste sharp rather than heavy. The vinegar goes down the side of the hot pan so it reduces on contact, and that acid is what cuts straight through the char.
- As you eat, find the crisped loose leaves that fell off the sprouts in the pan and notice how different they taste from the tender middles, and let the heat from the chile slow you down between bites.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use tempeh in place of tofu?
Yes, and it is good. Cut tempeh into half-inch slabs and brown them the same way, though they need a minute less. Tempeh brings a firmer, nuttier bite and holds up to the vinegar even better than tofu does.
My sprouts are burnt outside and raw inside.
Halve them rather than quarter them, and use the water step. Two tablespoons of water thrown into a hot pan creates a burst of steam that cooks the middles in two minutes without softening the charred faces. If your sprouts are unusually large, cut them in quarters and give them an extra minute of steam.
Is a wok necessary?
No, but a heavy pan is. Carbon steel or cast iron holds enough heat that the food does not cool the surface when it goes in. A thin nonstick skillet will drop temperature the moment the sprouts land and you will get steamed sprouts rather than charred ones.
How do I make it less hot?
Seed the jalapenos, or use one rather than two. The heat here builds rather than hits, so it is easy to misjudge on a first taste. You can also leave the chiles whole and sliced only halfway, so they perfume the pan and can be lifted out.