Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

This Teriyaki Tofu Bowl is full of flavor. That’s because tofu is a blank slate and will literally take on any flavor you give it. You can start with homemade teriyaki or you can make this with store bought teriyaki. Keep reading to get the full scoop for how to make teriyaki tofu.

I mentioned in this post, Matt’s been kicking my butt with his “get back to fit” routine and we are still at it. I just haven’t posted as many IG stories about it lately, mainly because it’s becoming more of a tragedy than a fun comedy show.

At this point, I think I’ve moved from the novel this-is-so-fun-and-funny stage to OMG-this-is just-too-pathetic to watch.  

But regardless, I’m sticking to it, which also means I’m still “bowl’n” my way through our post workout meals. 

I especially love this bowl because it’s packed with lean protein and sweetened with teriyaki sauce. The colorful side you see is made of julienned snow peas, textured with carrots and soybeans; made peppery with a hit of micro radish greens and then of course the sauce rounds it all out. 

Definitely tune into my IG stories for a few more peeks at some upcoming bowls and some more hilarity of me getting fit. 

Below are a few notes for How to Make Teriyaki Tofu:

What is tofu?

As shared on Wikipedia, “tofu also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness.” 

What kind of tofu works best for cooking and for this recipe?

Extra firm is the easiest to work with, so it is what I recommend.  

What is a preferred tofu brand?

I prefer at least is Nasoya. It’s a high quality tofu that’s also organic. They make a tofu baked line, that if you can find it–buy extra! It’s baked, so that cuts through the work of drying out the tofu to prep it for cooking.  Along with that, they offer it fully marinated so you can skip any cooking and just eat it hot or cold. Although the teriyaki one is too light in flavor, so I always give it a good brushing of my own homemade teriyaki sauce before cooking it to boost the flavor.

What texture works best for cooking tofu?

Extra firm since it will hold its shape for a variety of recipes and cooking methods. It also requires less hands-on prep time. 

How should I prep tofu for cooking?

For this recipe, make sure to purchase extra firm tofu, pat it dry then slice the tofu to 1/2 inch thick steaks for easy pan frying. For most other recipes you need to make sure to remove excess liquid.  

Thing to consider when using store bought teriyaki?

If you use store-bought teriyaki sauce vs. making the home made one in the recipe: (1) All teriyaki sauces have different amounts of sugar. The more sugar the faster it will burn, so make sure to keep a close eye on the tofu. (2) The time indicated in the recipe is for the homemade version. 

Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

Yield: Makes 2 bowls

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Ingredients

• 7 oz. rice noodles, cooked according to instructions
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 8 oz. Nasoya tofubaked (teriyaki flavor)
• 11/2 cup teriyaki sauce (homemade version follows recipes)
• 1/4 cup soybeans
• 1/4 cup julienne carrots
• 1/4 cup julienne snow peas (make sure to remove the tough string) 
• 1/4 cup julienne red cabbage
• micro radish greens
• toasted sesame seeds
• black sesame seeds
• thai chili peppers
• chili garlic sauce
• nuoc cham sauce (a traditional Vietnamese sauce,recipe follows)

Instructions

To cook the tofu: Brush tofu steaks with teriyaki sauce. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Place tofu in heated pan and cook for 3- 4 minutes over medium high heat on each side or until tofu takes on a dark carmelized brown color. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly before slicing.

In the meantime, make the noodle mixture by tossing together, the prepared rice noodles, soybeans, carrots, snow peas, red cabbage, both sesame seeds and micro greens. Fill one half of plate with noodle mixture.

Slice the tofu and fan out the slices on the other side of the plate. 

To make homemade terriyaki sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup mirin, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves.

To make nuoc cham sauce: In a small bowl, mix and combine 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 2 tablespoon fish sauce* 1 teaspoon Thai chilies, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes until well blended. This is sauce that can easily be adjusted to suit your taste. Add more lime for sourness, more fish sauce for a more savory flavor and more water to mellow the overall flavors. *The fish sauce brand I prefer is this one here.