Crunchy Vietnamese Cabbage Salad With Pan-Seared Tofu

Crunchy Vietnamese Cabbage Salad With Pan-Seared Tofu
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(831)
Comments
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Cabbages are the quintessential storage vegetable. You can cut a cabbage in quarters or thirds and use one piece at a time. The other hunks will keep, wrapped well in the vegetable crisper, for at least two weeks, and potentially a lot longer if you mist them with water every once in a while. That means you can buy one large cabbage and use it several times for different recipes, experiencing the deceptively versatile vegetable many ways. Fried tofu turns this Vietnamese-inspired slaw into more of a meal.

Featured in: A Good Appetite: Cabbage Flexes Its Muscles Three Ways

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 2teaspoons Asian fish sauce
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • ½jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • 4tablespoons peanut oil
  • ½pound extra-firm tofu, cut into slabs, ¾ inch thick
  • 6cups shredded cabbage
  • 1large carrot, grated
  • cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts, plus more to serve
  • 2tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more to serve
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

290 calories; 22 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 1093 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.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, 1½ teaspoons fish sauce, lime zest and juice, jalapeño and garlic. Whisk in 3 tablespoons peanut oil.

  2. 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 1½ 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.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, toss together tofu, cabbage, carrot, peanuts, cilantro and vinaigrette. Garnish with more peanuts and cilantro.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
831 user ratings
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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.

Thai basil sounds like an excellent addition. I doubled the sauce recipe. I used 2 Serrano peppers. We like heat and I was out of jalapeño. soaked some rice noodles. Tossed with slaw. Made tofu and salmon. @Tracy

Made this with Trader Joe's baked teriyaki tofu. Used a food processor to shred the cabbage and carrots, so it came together in about five minutes. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing -- great flavors and textures.

Had the same problem, will try the air fry setting on my range next time around.@Chrissy

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