Vegetarian Steamed Japanese Soft Tofu with Thai Basil Leaves Recipe

I always keep a few packs of Japanese soft tofu in my fridge because I can use to cook up a simple dish in a jiffy. In this Vegetarian Steamed Tofu with Thai Basil recipe, I used cylindrically packed Japanese soft tofu that I bought off the shelf from the local hypermarket. This type of tofu is very easy to prepare and you will a a dish cooked up for your family in a short time!

Here is my Vegetarian Steamed Japanese Soft Tofu with Thai Basil Leaves Recipe....

Ingredients

Japanese Soft Tofu, 1 pack

Thai Basil Leaves, 20 leaves

Shallots, 3 pcs

Light Soya sauce, 3 tablespoons

Dark Soya Sauce, 1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

Arrange Japanese Soft Tofu on a steaming plate and steam at high heat for 20 minutes. While the tofu is in the steamer, you can prepare the sauce separately. Heat up wok and put in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (corn, sunflower, palm, rapeseed or canola oil). Add in the shallots and fry until golden brown. Add light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and a little water. Add salt and sugar to taste. Throw in the Thai Basil Leaves. Stir fry for a short while. Pour the sauce over the steamed tofu and serve while still hot!

Happy Cooking!

Vegetarian Smoked Tofu Recipe

Raw rice, tea and sugar to smoke the tofu

I used the same ingredients to smoke the tofu as in Lily Wai Sek Hong’s smoked ribs recipe. This resulted in a totally new flavour for my vegetarian tofu dish and a new acquired taste as well. Anyway, I guess we are used to smoked meat than smoked vegetarian tofu! LOL!
Here is my simple smoked tofu recipe.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, cut into 1“ thick slices
Spring onions, 2 stalks, cut into small pieces
Light soya sauce, 3 tablespoons
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon
Olive oil or any vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon
Shallots, 3 pcs, cut into slices and deep fried until crispy


For Smoking Tofu
Raw Rice, 1 tablespoon
Chinese tea, 1 tablespoon
Sugar, 1 tablespoon

Put tofu on a steaming tray. Add in light soya sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce and olive oil. Steam the tofu in high heat for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain all the water from the wok. Line the bottom of the wok with an aluminium foil to protect it and put in all the ingredients for smoking. Sprinkle some water over the raw rice, Chinese Tea and sugar. Put the tofu tray into the wok and cover up the lid. Turn on the heat and smoke the tofu for 10 minutes. Garnish with spring onions and deep fried shallot before serving!

Vegan Deep Fried Tofu with Carrot and Leeks Recipe

This is a popular dish after the Chinese celebrate the Chinese New Year. During these time leeks are available abundantly and this dish is a good change after eating all the hearty meals during the celebration. I have added in the carrots to give the dish an extra crunch and colour. Leeks go along well with tofu and this is one of my family favourite dishes.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, cut into 1 inch cubes
Garlic, 3 pips, chopped finely
Leeks, 5 stalks, cut into thick slices
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into slices
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon

Deep fry the tofu in hot oil until golden brown. Remove the tofu, drain away excess oil and put aside. Heat up pan and put in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant and put in the carrot. Add leeks and salt to taste. Pour in a little water and fry for a short while. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Vegetarian Sambal (chilli) Tofu with Okra Recipe

Okra is one of my wife favourite vegetables and she would buy it often from the wet market. This sambal dish is very suitable for vegetarian nasi lemak (coconut milk rice).
For a little extra flavour, I added deep fried tofu to the okra.

Ingredients
Tofu, 10 pc, deep fried
Shallots, 5 pcs, blended
Vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon
Okra, 5 pcs, cut into slices
Chilli paste, 3 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Tamarind juice from 1 tablespoon tamarind
Olive oil or vegetable oil

Heat up pan and add in around 2 table spoons of olive oil. Sautee shallots until fragrant and add in the chilli paste. Stir fry for a short while. Add salt, sugar, tamarind juice and vegetarian oyster sauce. Fry until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add in the okra and little water. Fry for a short while and add in the tofu. Serve with Nasi Lemak (coconut milk rice).

Simple Vegetarian Steam Soft Tofu with Spring Onions and Shallots Recipe

When I have limited time to cook, I would just steam the tofu with some soya sauce and sesame oil. Sometime a plain dish taste very good compared to complicated ones. Actually, this dish would taste better if you use Japanese soft tofu. Since I did not have these in stock, I just used normal tofu.
This dish takes around 20 minutes to prepare and everyone in my family loves this plain tofu dish.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, cut into four
Shallots, 3 pcs, cut into slices and deep fried until golden brown
Spring onions, 2 stalks, cut into small length
Sesame oil, ½ teaspoon
Light Soya sauce, 2 table spoon
Vegetarian oyster sauce (optional), 1 table spoon

Pour the sesame oil, light soya sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce on the tofu. Steam the tofu at high heat for 15 minutes. Garnish with spring onions and shallots before serving.

Vegetarian Sesame Seed Tofu with French Beans and Basil Recipe

I love the aroma of freshly toasted sesame seed. It has been some time since I last use sesame seed in my dishes. The sesame seed add some bursting aromatic sensation to this tofu dish. For some greens, I put in some French Beans. The basil leaves and aromatic sesame seed gave this dish a fabulous flavour.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, cut into 1 inch cube sizes, deep fried until golden brown
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 table spoon
Soya sauce, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Basil Leaves, 10 pcs
Sesame seeds, 1 table spoon, toasted till golden brown
French Beans, 5 pcs, cut into 1 inch length
Corn flour and water mixture to thicken the gravy

Heat up wok; add a little olive oil and sauté garlic until golden brown. Add a little water, vegetarian oyster sauce, soya sauce and salt to taste. Fry for a short while. Add French beans and basil leaves. Thicken the gravy with corn flour and water mixture. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seed on top of the dish and serve with steam rice.

The Making of Mock Cod Fish using Tofu

The mock cod fish that you find in Vegetarian restaurant is definitely not made from tofu. The actually use some processed vegetarian ingredients which I am not sure what it contain.
I tried to make cod fish using tofu and seaweeds as the skin. The dish turned out quite good and my kids was thrilled to see a mock cod fish! LOL!
This is a simple to prepare steamed dish.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block
Seaweed (sushi type), 1 piece
Sesame Oil
Light Soya sauce
Garlic Oil (optional) or you can just use olive oil
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon
Oyster Mushroom, around 8 pcs
Parsley for garnishing

Cut tofu block in to the shape of a cod fish cut. Use a scissor to cut the seaweed into strips around 1 ½ cm width. Wet the seaweed strips and wrap it to the side of the tofu. Add sesame oil, light soya sauce, garlic oil, oyster mushroom and vegetarian oyster sauce. Steam the mock cod fish in high heat for around 20 minutes. Serve with white rice.

Vegetarian Braised Tofu Stew with Chinese Lettuce (Sang Choy, Sheng Cai, Pek Chai)

I was cracking my head thinking of a suitable dish to cook for my little toddler to eat the other day when I came up with this recipe. I wanted something soft and with a little gravy. Tofu and stew fits the dish that I am looking for. I have added an egg when cooking for him so you can opt out from this ingredients if you don’t take eggs. Anyway, I like to use Chinese Lettuce (sang choy, sheng cai, pek chai) in stew because it will not get too soggy easily. For a little flavouring, I used vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil and light soya sauce.

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, 3”x3”x3”, cut into 1 cm square blocks
Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
Light soya sauce, 1 table spoon
Olive oil, 1 table spoon
Chinese Lettuce, 10 leaves, cut into 1” length
Vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 table spoon (optional)
Salt to taste
A little water
Corn flour and water mixture
Egg (optional), 1 pc, slightly beaten

Heat up pan and add in a little olive oil. You can also use any vegetable oil. Put in the tofu and fry it slightly. Add in the Chinese Lettuce. Fry for a short while. Stir the mixture gently so that you will not break the tofu into small piece. Add sesame oil, light soya sauce, salt, vegetarian oyster sauce and a little water to make a stew. Bring to a boil and thicken the stew with cornflower and water mixture. If you take eggs, then slowly pour in the beaten egg while stirring the stew.

Quickie Baked Vegan Tofu with Cheese and Thyme Recipe

I love the aroma of freshly baked cheese. In order to create an East meets West recipe, I used tofu with cheese and western popular herb such as thyme. Baking saves me some time when I am preparing dinner for my family. I just need to set the timer in the oven and the dish would be ready by the time I finish cooking other things else. This dish would make a complete meal for the family because it loaded in protein and greens as well. For carbohydrate, you can eat these tofu dish with steam unpolished rice.
Check out my Quickie Vegan Tofu Cheese and Thyme Recipe.

Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 1 large piece
Vegan Cheese (you can use normal cheese, if you are not a full vegan), enough to cover the tofu
Thyme, 1 teaspoon
Celery, cut into 3” length
Tomato, 1 pc, cut onto four
Soya sauce, 1 table spoon

Arrange all the ingredients in the baking tray. Add a little water. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 200 Deg C. Serve with steamed rice.

Chinese Vegetarian Fried Tofu with Long Beans and Celery

Actually I wanted to cook fried tofu with celery only but since I have got some long beans that have been sitting in my fridge for quite some time, I decided to add this into the dish. Fried tofu itself is already very tasty but then if it is cooked with celery it taste even better.
Here is the recipe for vegetarian fried tofu with long beans and celery

Ingredients
Tofu, 1 block, 3”x3”x3”, cut into 1”x1”x1” cubes
Celery, 2 stalks, cut into thick slices
Long beans, 3 pcs, cut into 1 inch length
Salt to taste
Soya sauce, 1 teaspoon
Garlic, 3 pcs, chopped finely
Onions, 1pc, cut into four
Vegetable oil

Deep fry the tofu in hot vegetable oil until crispy. Drain away excess oil from the fried tofu and put aside.
Heat up wok and add in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sautéed onions and garlic until fragrant. Add in the celery and long beans. Fry for a short while. Add some water, soya sauce, tofu and salt to taste.

Vegetarian Steamed Stuffed Tofu Pok Balls

I like to cook tofu pok by turning it inside out and then stuff fillings in it. Steamed tofu is indeed a healthy meal. The ones that you normally eat at restaurants are fried and it actually soaked up a large quantity of oil. But then of course it is tastier if fried.

Ingredients
Tofu Pok, 8 pcs, turned it inside out. See my post in Peteformtion blog on how to turn the tofu pok inside out via this link, http://peteformation.blogspot.com/search/label/Tofu%20Pok

Fillings
French beans, 5 pcs, cut into small strips
Turnips, 1/2 , but onto small pieces
Sesame oil, 1 table spoon
Corn flour; add with water until the filling mixture thickens
Salt to taste
Soya sauce, 1 table spoon

Fill up the tofu pok with the fillings. Steam the tofu pok balls in high heat for 20 minutes. Your stuffed tofu pok balls are ready!

Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe

Sweet and sour dishes are quite popular in many Chinese restaurants.
Instead of using meat to cook this meal, I tried it using deep fried tofu. Well, it actually turns out to be quite delicious. I have also added more vegetable to the dish.
Due to the dish sweet and sours taste, kids would love it.

Ingredients
Tofu, cut into 1x1x1 inch squares, 20 pcs
Cucumber, cut into round slices or any shape you like
Pineapple, 1 slice cut into small pieces
Tomato, 1pc, cut into 4
Tomato Sauce, 5 table spoons
Plum sauce, 1 table spoon
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Onions, 1 pc, cut into four

Deep fry tofu in hot vegetable oil until it turns golden brown. Put the tofu aside. Add 2 table spoons of vegetable oil in hot wok and sautéed the onions until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, plum sauce, sugar, a little water and salt to taste. Put the pineapple, cucumber, tomato and fried tofu into the sauce. Serve the dish with steamed rice.

Vegetarian Tofu with Thousand Island Salad Dressing Recipe

I like to make tofu salad, especially the ones that have been deep fried. The crunchiness of the fried tofu skin and the soft part inside with the taste of Thousand Island salad dressing is simply delicious.
I used spring onions to garnish this dish and also to add some greens to it. The spring onions also added some extra flavour to this dish.

Ingredients
Tofu, cut into 1/2x2x1 inch size
Thousand Island Salad Dressing
Spring onions, 3 stalks
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Deep fry the tofu in vegetable oil and put them aside. Pour the Thousand Island Salad dressing on to the tofu and garnish with spring onions. Great party food!

Vegetarian Stir Fry Tofu with Leeks Recipe

Tofu and leeks make very good combination. This is my wife’s favourite food. The tofu absorbs the natural sweetness of the leeks. I manage to get my kids to eat some green vegetable this way. The simply love the tofu fried with leeks.

Ingredients,
Tofu, 3x3x3 inches block, cut into 1/2x1/2x1/2 inch size
Leeks, 5 stalks, cut into large pieces as in the picture
Garlic, 5pcs, chopped finely
Vegetable oil, 2 table spoon
Salt to taste

Deep fry the tofu until golden brown and put aside.
Stir fry the garlic in hot oil until golden brown. Add in the leeks and salt to taste. Stir fry for a short while and add a little water. Add salt to taste. Put the fried leek over the tofu. Serve with steamed rice.

Vegetarian Tofu with Hickory Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Tofu is a very common ingredient in Chinese cooking and has been around for rather a long time. Tofu is form when soya bean milk coagulates. This low calorie food has lots of minerals like iron, calcium and magnesium. Tofu dishes are very easy to prepare and love by most members of the family. For vegetarians, tofu is a common must have.
This is my recipe for Tofu with Hickory Barbecue Sauce.

Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 1 block (300gms)
Hickory Barbecue Sauce, 5 table spoons
Sugar, 1 teaspoon
Pepper, A dash
Salt, ¼ teaspoon or to taste
Garlic, 5 pcs, chopped finely
Vegetable oil, 1 table spoon
Spring Onions for Garnishing, 3 pcs, cut into 1” length

Steam tofu and put aside. Heat up pan and put in the vegetable oil. Sautéed garlic until it turns golden brown. Add in barbecue sauce, pepper, salt to taste and sugar. Stir the mixture in low heat until it boils. Pour this gravy onto the steam tofu and garnish with spring onions. This tofu dish is best eaten with steamed rice.

Vegetarian Stir Fried Bean sprouts with Tofu Recipe

Bean sprout and tofu are good combination. This dish taste good when you cook it the right way. It is quite simple to prepare this dish and it goes down well with steamed rice. Here is my Vegetarian Stir Fried Bean Sprout with Tofu recipe.

Ingredients
Bean sprout, 1 bowl
Tofu, 2 pcs, cut into cubes
Garlic, 5 pcs, remove skins and chopped finely
Sesame oil, ½ teaspoon
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Deep fry the tofu in vegetable oil until it turns golden brown. Put the fried tofu aside. Heat up wok and put in 1 table spoon of vegetable oil. Sautéed garlic until fragrant. Add sesame oil. Put in the bean sprout and fry for a short while. Add a little water and salt to taste. Add in the fried tofu. The dish is ready!

Simple Recipe – Vegetarian Japanese Soft Tofu with Soya Sauce

I love soft tofu cooked this way. It goes down well with steamed rice

Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 1 block, 1”x 5”x 3”
Light Soya Sauce, 3 table spoons
Sesame Oil, 1 teaspoon
Garlic, 3pcs, chopped and sautéed until golden brown
Spring Onions, 1 stalk, for garnishing

Put the soft tofu into a plate and add soya sauce and sesame oil. Steam for 15 minutes under high heat. Garnish with garlic and spring onion and serve.

Simple Recipe – Vegetarian Tofu with Mushroom - Halal

Oyster Mushroom, already cut into strips


Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom with Tofu

Ingredients
1) Tofu, 400 gms, cut into 1”x1/2”x1/2”
2) Oyster Mushroom, 7 to 8 pcs, cut into strips
3) Soya sauce, 1 table spoon
4) Salt, 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
5) Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
6) Shallots, 5 pcs, cut into thin slices
7) Corn Flour, 1 teaspoon mix with a little bit of cold water
8) Oil for deep frying the tofu
9) Vegetarian oyster sauce (optional)

Heat up oil and fry the tofu until golden brown. Put the tofu aside. Leave a little oil in the wok and add the sesame oil. Add in the shallots and stir fry it until golden brown. Add ¼ cup of water, soya sauce, salt, vegetarian oyster sauce(optional) and oyster mushroom. When the water starts to boil add in the corn flour (remember to mix with cold water first) to thicken the gravy. Bring to a boil and then pour the gravy onto the fried tofu.

Simple Recipe(V)- Vegetarian Bean Curd Strips and Tofu Stew - Halal

Dried Bean Curd Strips (Tau Kee)

Soft Tofu - Bought fresh from Kepong Baru
wetmarket. Home made.

All ready to eat. Best eaten with steam rice
or soft buns

Ingredients:

1) Dried Bean Curd Strips - 5 pcs
2) Tofu - One large piece(4" x4"x4") - Cut into 1" cubes
3) Cinnamon Stick (Kayu Manis) - 2 sticks
4) Star Anise(Bunga Lawang) - 2 pcs
5) Light Soya Sauce - 5 table spoon
6) Dark Soya Sauce - 1 table spoon
7) Salt to taste - (Please note that the light soya sauce is already very salty)
8) Corn Flour - 3 teaspoon
9) Water - 2 small bowls
10) 1 bulb of Garlic and Hard Boil Eggs (optional, some vegetarian don't take these)

-Soak Dried Beancurd Strips in cold water for 1 hour.
-Heat up 2 small bowls of water in pot. Add Cinnamon Sticks, Star Anise, Light Soya Sauce, Light Soya Sauce, Dark Soya Sauce and Garlic(optional). Boil for 20 minutes.
-Add in the soaked Dried Beancurd Strips, Tofu and Hard Boiled Eggs(optional). Boil for 5 mins.
-Mix corn flour with a little cold water and add it in the stew to make it thick. Add salt to taste and serve. Best eaten with steam rice or soft buns.