Green Bean and Tofu Salad With Peanut Dressing

By Genevieve Ko

Published July 15, 2022

Green Bean and Tofu Salad With Peanut Dressing
Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho. Prop Stylist: Christina Lane.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(900)
Comments
Read comments

Inspired by the combination of peanut sauce with vegetables in southeast Asia, found in dishes such as gado gado in Indonesia and summer rolls in Vietnam, this streamlined salad would work just as well as a vegetarian main dish to eat with rice or noodles. The green beans are cooked for only a short while so that they stay crunchy. If you prefer floppy beans, you can cook them longer. And if you want something more refreshing and don’t want to turn on the stove, you can skip the beans altogether and use cut-up cucumbers and tomatoes instead.

Featured in: 20 Easy Salads for Every Summer Table

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Salt
  • ¼cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 2tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 1tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for sprinkling
  • 12ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
  • 1(14-ounce) box extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

223 calories; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 496 milligrams sodium

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.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, stir the peanut butter, hoisin, lime juice, sugar and red-pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons boiling water from the saucepan to the peanut dressing and stir well. The dressing should be runny but still thick. If needed, stir in another tablespoon boiling water.

  2. Step 2

    Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until brighter in color and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well, rinse under cold water until cool, then drain again. Transfer the green beans and tofu to the peanut dressing and stir gently until evenly coated. Season to taste with salt, then sprinkle with more red-pepper flakes. Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
900 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Brendan

Quick and easy to make. Even easier since I used the peanut vinaigrette from Trader Joe’s. Tofu would’ve been better marinated. Added some cherry tomatoes which added some nice acidity.

Kit K

Me: “follows recipe” & tastes dish. This is kinda meh. It needs something. Adds more lime and pepper flakes. Better, but still meh. Adds thinly sliced shallots, red bell pepper, and some cilantro. Definitely better, but missing something still. Sees the ginger root sitting on the counter, ungrated. Facepalm. Anyway, who knows if it would have needed cilantro, shallots or bell pepper, if I’d remembered the ginger in the first place? But the final product *with* the ginger was tasty.

Isabel

Wonderful, with some adjustments, based on previous comments. I cut the tofu slightly smaller, and marinated it in teriyaki sauce for a few hours, prepared the peanut sauce and beans early and put them in the fridge. Doubled the lime in the peanut sauce to add acidity, added tomatoes to the recipe. I served it on top of a bed of arugula and it was a hit. Great dinner salad.

Anna

I love this recipe so much because it is original, delicious, and always makes me happy to buy green beans at the Farmers market.

Meg

I really enjoyed this, and it was very quick and simple to make. I followed many Commenters’ advice and added the juice of 1 lime to the peanut sauce. I didn’t have any fresh ginger, so I added 1 tsp of dry ginger. I swapped in Gochugaru for the crushed red pepper flakes. I skipped the sugar, as I find hoisin to be sweet enough, and I added 2 minced cloves of garlic. Despite all the comments about cooking the tofu, I didn’t. It was a dreadfully hot and sticky DC evening and cold tofu sounded comforting. I used Trader Joe’s high protein, extra firm tofu, which I pressed in my bamboo tofu press. I topped the salad with thinly sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. I rarely eat green beans, they’re not my favorite, but if they ended up in my CSA again, I’d be excited to make this salad again!

Sarah

Made this for a gathering of mostly elderly people so I blanched the string beans for 4 minutes instead of 2-3 and also simmered the tofu cubes in some water and teriyaki or soy sauce for a few minutes. More digestible and easier to chew everything. Added some chopped cilantro and some thin slivered red peppers for color & texture. Reduced added sugar for a diabetic. A nice sweet & sour vibe without being too sweet or too sour.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.