Welcome to Cooking Without Recipes, in which we teach you how to make a dish we love, but don’t worry too much about the nitty-gritty details of the recipe, in an effort for you to create your own spin. Today…crumbled tofu with cucumber salad!
This is the dish I make to convert the most hardcore carnivores in my life into tofu lovers. Crumbling and stir-frying the tofu until browned and crispy makes it taste extremely similar to ground chicken or pork. This version, which I top with a simple cucumber salad and a mess of fresh herbs, regularly makes it into my Meatless Monday dinner rotation. It should be in yours, too. Eat it for dinner tonight, then ask yourself why you stayed away from tofu for this long.
Drain a block of extra-firm tofu (you must use extra-firm!) and wrap in several layers of paper towels. Put a heavy can on top and press for 30 minutes. (Don't skip this step! Pressing extra liquid out of the tofu is critical to the final texture.)
While the tofu presses, make the cucumber salad. Slice a large cucumber into rounds and toss with a little salt in a medium bowl; set aside for about 10 minutes, then rinse and drain them to remove any excess salt. Toss cucumber with a little unseasoned rice vinegar, salt, and thinly sliced scallions. Refrigerate.
Use your hands to crumble the pressed tofu into a medium bowl and toss with a spoonful of cornstarch to coat. Heat a slick of oil in a large wok or skillet on high heat until shimmering, then add the tofu and cook until it’s browned and crispy, breaking up with a wooden spoon as you cook. It should resemble cooked ground meat by the time it's done. Transfer tofu to a plate.
Add a little more oil to the same pan and sauté some sliced mushrooms (shiitakes add tons of meaty flavor, but use whatever you've got), scallions, and some minced garlic and ginger until mushrooms are browned. In a measuring cup, add a couple of glugs of soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce, a spoonful of brown sugar, sesame oil, sambal oelek or chile oil, and broth to make about a cup of liquid total (skip the fish sauce to keep this dish 100 percent vegetarian). Add sauce and tofu to the mushrooms and cook a minute or two longer, until sauce coats tofu.
Spoon tofu mixture over cooked rice or noodles and top with cucumber salad, more scallions, fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, and mint, and toasted sesame seeds. Serve with more sambal oelek or chile oil.