Cold Peanut-Sesame Tofu Bowl with Shaved Cabbage and Bean Sprouts
Pressed firm tofu marinated cold in tamari, lime, and ginger, then laid over shaved red cabbage, bean sprouts, and pepper strips with a loose peanut sesame dressing.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
When the idea of anything warm is unappealing, which where I live is most of July and August, this is what I want. It is a cold, crunchy, savory bowl with a peanut dressing, and the only real work is pressing the tofu, which happens on its own while you stand somewhere else. I usually press a block the night before and let it sit in its marinade overnight, so the morning is nothing more than shredding cabbage and spooning dressing. If a savory breakfast is new territory for you, this is a gentle place to start, because the peanut and lime taste familiar even when the hour is unusual.
Pressing is the step people skip and then wonder why their tofu tastes of nothing. A block of firm tofu is holding a surprising amount of water, and until that water leaves there is no room for tamari or lime to get in. Set the block between two plates with a can on top for 30 minutes and you will pour off several tablespoons. Cut it into slabs rather than cubes, because slabs give you more surface for the marinade to sit on and they stay in one piece when you turn them over. Thirty minutes in tamari, lime, ginger, and sesame oil is enough, and overnight is better.
The dressing is peanut butter loosened with lime juice, tamari, and enough cold water to make it pourable, and it wants more water than you think, right up to the point where it falls off the spoon in a smooth stream. Underneath it, everything stays raw. Red cabbage shaved thin keeps its squeak, bean sprouts snap, pepper strips hold their shape, and carrot ribbons soften only at the edges. Cilantro, mint, and thin rings of jalapeño go over at the last second. Between the tofu and the peanut butter this eats like a real plate of food rather than a bowl of vegetables with a dressing on it.
Ingredients
- 16 oz firm tofu, pressed and cut into slabs
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, stirred well
- 2 tbsp certified gluten-free tamari, divided
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 4 cups finely shaved red cabbage
- 2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and dried
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 2 medium carrots, shaved into ribbons
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
- 1 jalapeño, sliced into thin rings
- 1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Press the tofu: Drain the block and set it on a plate lined with a folded kitchen towel, lay another towel and a second plate on top, and weight it with a can or two. Leave it 30 minutes. You should pour off two or three tablespoons of water, and the block should feel firm and slightly springy when you press a corner.
- Marinate it cold: Cut the pressed block into 8 slabs about half an inch thick. Lay them in a shallow dish and turn them in 1 tablespoon of the tamari, 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, the sesame oil, and the grated ginger. Leave them 30 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once so both faces darken evenly.
- Thin the peanut dressing: Whisk the peanut butter with the remaining tamari, the remaining lime juice, the maple syrup, and the garlic-infused olive oil. It will tighten into a stiff ball first. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, 4 to 5 tablespoons in all, whisking until it runs off the spoon in a smooth stream rather than dropping off in lumps.
- Shave the vegetables: Quarter the cabbage, cut the core out, and slice it as finely as you can manage with a sharp knife. Shave the carrots into ribbons with a peeler, cut the pepper into thin strips, and rinse the bean sprouts and dry them well. Toss the cabbage, carrot, and pepper with the salt and let them sit 5 minutes to relax slightly.
- Build the bowls: Divide the shaved vegetables among four shallow bowls and add the bean sprouts in a loose pile rather than mixed through, so they keep their snap. Lay two tofu slabs across each bowl, overlapping, and pour any marinade left in the dish over them.
- Dress and finish: Spoon the peanut dressing over the tofu and let it run down into the vegetables. Scatter the cilantro, mint, jalapeño rings, and sesame seeds across the top, grind the black pepper over, and eat it right away while the sprouts are still noisy.
Variations
- Shrimp version: Fold 1 lb of cooked shrimp through the vegetables and spoon the peanut dressing straight over them.
- Rice underneath: Spoon a cup of cold cooked brown rice into the bottom of each bowl for something that carries you further into the morning.
- More heat: Stir 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne into the dressing and leave the jalapeño seeds in when you slice it.
- Napa and cucumber: Swap the red cabbage for shredded napa cabbage and add half a cucumber cut into thick matchsticks.
- Crunchier top: Scatter 1/4 cup of chopped roasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds over the finished bowls along with the sesame seeds.
Storage & Leftovers
The marinated tofu is the part that keeps and improves. Sealed in its marinade it holds 4 days in the refrigerator and tastes deeper on day two, when the tamari has reached the middle of each slab. Keep the slabs flat in a single layer if you can, so they color evenly rather than crowding in a corner of the dish.
The peanut dressing keeps 5 days in a jar and sets thick and claggy in the cold, which is normal. Let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then whisk in a tablespoon of warm water and a squeeze of lime to bring it back to a pouring sauce. Make a double batch while the whisk is dirty.
Shaved cabbage, pepper, and carrot hold 3 days in a sealed container and stay crisp, so I cut those ahead too. Bean sprouts and the soft herbs are the exception and want to be same-day, since sprouts go slimy fast and cilantro and mint darken. Dress only the bowl you are about to eat.
Notes & Tips
- Press it properly: Thirty minutes under a weighted plate is the single step that decides whether this tastes of tamari and ginger or of nothing at all.
- Slabs, not cubes: Wide flat pieces take on more marinade per bite and lift out of the dish whole. Cubes tumble, break at the corners, and stay pale in the middle.
- Why garlic-infused olive oil works: The flavor of garlic dissolves into fat while the part that upsets a sensitive gut stays behind in the water, so an infused oil brings the taste and leaves the trouble in the bottle. Whisked raw into this dressing it is what makes the peanut sauce taste savory rather than sweet.
- Thin the dressing further than feels right: Peanut butter tightens hard against acid and then loosens all at once. Keep adding water a tablespoon at a time until it pours in a stream, because a thick sauce sits on top of shaved cabbage and never reaches the bottom of the bowl.
- Shave the cabbage with a knife: A box grater bruises it and leaves you with wet shreds. A sharp knife and a little patience gives long fine ribbons that keep their squeak all morning.
- Dry the sprouts: Rinsed sprouts carry water that dilutes everything they touch. Spin them or roll them in a towel, then add them in a loose pile rather than mixing them through.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Tofu, raw shaved vegetables, and the peanut dressing are the three parts here. The tofu gives the bowl its substance, the cabbage and sprouts give it noise and freshness, and the dressing is the fat and salt that pull the two together into one dish.
- Firm tofu is soybeans pressed into a block, which is why it carries so much plant protein for something this mild, along with iron and the isoflavones soy is known for. Pressed and marinated it turns dense and savory rather than watery, and it takes on whatever it sits in.
- Red cabbage stays completely raw here, so it keeps its squeak and its color, and that deep purple is anthocyanin pigment. Raw like this it holds onto vitamin C and gives the bowl fiber with real texture behind it rather than fiber you cannot feel.
- Peanut butter thinned with lime and tamari brings unsaturated fat, plant protein, and niacin, and it is what turns a plate of cold vegetables into breakfast. A spoonful goes a long way once it is loose enough to run down between the cabbage ribbons.
- Ginger, lime, mint, cilantro, and jalapeño all land raw, which is when their oils are strongest and most fragrant, and toasted sesame carries the smell of the bowl before you taste it. Between the tofu and the peanut butter, a bowl this size holds you comfortably through the morning.
- As you eat, listen to how loud the cabbage and the sprouts are against the soft tofu, and let a slow bowl at the table be the quiet part of the morning rather than something you finish in the car.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different protein or a different nut butter?
Cooked shrimp folded through the vegetables works well and needs no marinating time at all. For the dressing, almond butter makes a milder, sweeter sauce and tahini takes it savory and slightly bitter, which is good against the lime. Both want the same amount of water as the peanut butter does.
My tofu tastes watery and bland even after marinating. What happened?
It was not pressed long enough. Tofu straight from the tub is full of packing water, and marinade cannot go where water already is. Give it a real 30 minutes under weight, pour off what collects, and cut slabs rather than cubes so more surface meets the tamari.
How much of this can I do the night before?
Almost all of it. Press and marinate the tofu, whisk the dressing, and shave the cabbage, carrot, and pepper, then keep the three in separate containers. In the morning you are rinsing sprouts, tearing herbs, and pouring dressing, which takes about five minutes.
Does this fit a low-FODMAP breakfast?
It does. Firm tofu is pressed and drained, which is the form that sits well, and red cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot, and red pepper are all comfortable at the amount one bowl holds. A tablespoon of peanut butter per serving is a friendly portion, and the savory depth comes from tamari, ginger, sesame, and garlic-infused olive oil rather than garlic or onion.