Tofu Tinga Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw and Lime Yogurt
Shredded firm tofu browned hard and simmered in a chipotle tomato tinga until dark and clingy, piled onto warm corn tortillas with a sharp red cabbage and radish slaw and lime yogurt.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Tinga is a chipotle and tomato braise, usually made with shredded chicken, and what makes it worth copying is the texture: long shreds that hold sauce along their whole length rather than cubes with sauce sitting on the outside. Tofu does that beautifully if you grate it on the large holes of a box grater rather than cubing it. You get ragged strands with an enormous amount of surface area, they brown properly in a hot pan, and the chipotle tomato clings to every one of them. Nobody at my table has ever guessed how it was cut.
The two things that make or break it are pressing and patience. Tofu straight from the tub carries a lot of water, and that water will keep the pan at a simmer so the shreds go soft and pale. Fifteen minutes under a weighted plate fixes it. Then, once it is in the pan, leave it alone in stretches of two or three minutes so it can actually catch and brown. The smoke of the chipotle needs something toasted underneath it or the whole thing tastes flat and tomatoey.
I put the slaw together first so it has time to slump slightly in the lime juice, and I keep the yogurt cold and loose enough to pour. The three parts want to arrive at the table separately, so everybody builds their own. Warm the tortillas directly on a gas burner if you have one, 20 seconds a side, until they blister and puff. That smell is the reason to make tacos at home, and it is worth the two minutes standing over the stove with a pair of tongs.
Ingredients
- 21 oz firm tofu (about 1 1/2 blocks), pressed 15 minutes and shredded on the large holes of a box grater
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp chipotle powder, or 2 chipotles in adobo, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano, crumbled between your palms
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups red cabbage (about 1/4 head), shredded as thinly as you can
- 6 radishes, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 tbsp lime juice, from about 1 lime, plus wedges for the table
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3/4 packed cup cilantro leaves
- 12 small corn tortillas
Instructions
- Press and shred the tofu: Wrap the tofu blocks in a clean towel, set them on a plate, and put a heavy skillet on top for 15 minutes. Unwrap, then push each block along the large holes of a box grater to make ragged shreds. Squeeze the shreds gently in the towel one more time and spread them out to dry a little further.
- Make the slaw: Toss the shredded red cabbage and sliced radishes with half the lime juice and a pinch of the salt in a bowl. Set it aside and let it sit while everything else happens, turning it once or twice. It will soften slightly, turn a brighter magenta, and lose its raw edge.
- Stir the lime yogurt: Mix the Greek yogurt with the rest of the lime juice and a spoonful of water until it pours in a thick ribbon. Keep it cold until the tacos are built.
- Brown the tofu: Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. Add the tofu shreds in an even layer and leave them for three minutes without stirring. Toss, spread them out again, and repeat twice more, eight to ten minutes total, until a good half of the shreds are golden and the pan sounds dry and crackly rather than wet.
- Build the tinga: Push the tofu to one side, add the onion and garlic to the clear space, and cook two minutes until they soften. Stir in the chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, and remaining salt and cook 30 seconds, then pour in the crushed tomatoes. Stir everything together and simmer eight minutes, until the sauce has reduced onto the tofu and the pan looks glossy and dark rather than soupy.
- Warm the tortillas and serve: Heat the tortillas one at a time directly over a gas flame or in a dry skillet, about 20 seconds a side, until they blister and steam. Stack them in a towel to stay soft. Bring the pan, the slaw, the yogurt, the cilantro, and lime wedges to the table and let everybody build three each.
Variations
- Tostadas: Spoon the tinga over crisped tortillas laid flat, then pile the slaw and yogurt on top so every bite shatters.
- With black beans: Stir a cup of black beans into the tinga in the last two minutes for a heavier, softer filling.
- Charred onion: Grill or blacken the onion in a dry pan before it goes in, which pushes the whole pan smokier and sweeter.
- Pickled jalapeno slaw: Add a sliced pickled jalapeno and a spoonful of its brine to the cabbage for a sharper, hotter topping.
Storage & Leftovers
The tinga keeps five days in a sealed container in the refrigerator and is, if anything, better on day two once the chipotle has settled into the tofu. Keep the slaw, the yogurt, and the tortillas separate so nothing goes soggy.
Reheat the tinga in a skillet over medium heat for four minutes, spread flat so the edges crisp again, with a splash of water if it looks tight. Warm tortillas fresh each time, since a reheated tortilla that has been sitting in the refrigerator is a different and sadder thing.
The tinga freezes for three months in flat sealed portions and thaws overnight in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the slaw. Make it fresh in the five minutes the tinga takes to reheat, and it will taste exactly as it did the first night.
Notes & Tips
- Grate the tofu, do not cube it: The large holes of a box grater give you shreds with far more surface than cubes, which is what lets the sauce cling along the whole length of each piece and what makes the texture read as tinga.
- Leave the pan alone: Browning happens in the minutes you are not stirring. Three minutes still, toss, three minutes still. Constant stirring gives you hot, damp tofu and nothing else.
- Crumble the oregano in your palms: Rubbing dried oregano between your hands as it goes in breaks the leaves open and wakes up the oils. It is a two-second habit and you can smell the difference immediately.
- Dress the slaw early: Lime juice needs ten minutes with shredded cabbage to soften it and turn the color bright. Made at the last second, it is stiff and squeaky; made first, it slumps just enough to sit inside a folded tortilla.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Tofu, corn tortillas, and the cabbage slaw make this a complete plate between them. The tofu carries the protein and the calcium, the tortillas give it a whole-grain base to sit on, and the slaw brings crunch, color, and acid so the smoky filling never feels heavy.
- Firm tofu is set with calcium salts, which is why it is one of the more generous plant sources of calcium, and it brings a full complement of protein along with it. Shredded and browned, it also picks up a chewiness people do not expect from it.
- Corn tortillas are made from corn treated with lime, an old process that softens the grain and makes its niacin available to us, and it leaves the tortillas carrying calcium as well. Warmed straight on the burner, they smell toasted in a way no package can match.
- Red cabbage keeps its magenta color because of anthocyanins, the same pigments that color berries, and a quick toss in lime juice sets them brighter still. Sliced thin, it holds its crunch under a hot filling for the length of a meal.
- Chipotle powder, cumin, and Mexican oregano give the pan its smoke and depth, and the yogurt spooned over cold is what makes it all sit comfortably. Something creamy against something smoky is one of the most satisfying pairings there is.
- As you eat, notice how the smoke of the chipotle, the crunch of the cabbage, and the cool yogurt land in that order in a single bite, and let building each taco by hand keep the meal unhurried.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to press the tofu?
Yes, if you want browning. The water that comes out is what would otherwise keep the pan at a simmer, and simmered tofu shreds stay pale and soft. Fifteen minutes under a weighted skillet is enough, and you can do it while you shred the cabbage.
Can I use chipotles in adobo in place of the powder?
Absolutely, and many people prefer them. Two minced chipotles plus a teaspoon of the adobo sauce is roughly equivalent to two teaspoons of the powder, and they bring a little vinegar and sweetness with them that rounds the sauce out.
How do I keep corn tortillas from cracking?
Heat and steam. A cold tortilla folds badly, but 20 seconds a side over a live flame or in a dry pan makes it pliable, and stacking them in a clean towel afterward keeps them that way through dinner. If yours are very dry, flick a few drops of water onto each one before it hits the pan.
Can I make it with chicken?
That is the original. Poach and shred a pound and a quarter of chicken, then add it at the point the tofu would go back in and simmer it in the chipotle tomato for ten minutes so it takes on the sauce.