Tadashi Ono’s Soboro Beef—cooked ground meat seasoned with sake, mirin, and soy sauce—from our December 2015 issue inspired this simple approach to turning (grated!) tofu into a filling lunch in minutes.
Recipe information
Yield
2 - 4 servings
Ingredients
1
2
2
1
1
3
3
2
2
Preparation
Step 1
Squeeze tofu over a bowl to expel as much water as possible (don’t worry if it starts to break apart). Grate on the large holes of a box grater; set aside.
Step 2
Heat oil and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Cook, turning once, until garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds and 1 tsp. Aleppo-style pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tofu, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, tossing occasionally and breaking tofu apart with a wooden spoon, until it begins to crisp in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in scallions, soy sauce, mirin, and butter and cook until liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.
Step 3
Divide rice among shallow bowls and spoon tofu mixture over; top with more sesame seeds and Aleppo-style pepper.
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Reviews (95)
Back to TopGREAT recipe!! Made pretty much as written except (sorry, can't help myself) used brown rice; sub'd chopped pine nuts for sesame seeds bc I didn't have any; thinly sliced the scallions; and added sliced baby bok choy to the pan before adding the tofu (so as not to dirty another pan just for a green side dish). I mixed in a little sambal olek at the end instead of more Aleppo-style pepper and garnished with chopped cilantro. I served a nice asparagus soup alongside. I love grated tofu and, in this dish, the combination of flavors and mouth feel were terrific! This makes a very flavorful, light and satisfying dinner. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. =) Will definitely make again!
It's Dinner Thyme!
Deerfield, IL
4/12/2024
sda
Anonymous
4/2/2024
Made exactly as written with brown rice and will make it often. Flavor subtle but really good.
Anonymous
indianapolis
3/1/2024
Buttery, spicy, tofu goodness! This is easy and a perfect recipe to add to the workweek rotation
Katie
New York, NY
11/29/2023
Really great recipe that never fails, especially in a pinch. You can make this recipe a pantry cleaner by adding other ingredients after the tofu is cooked. I usually add some chopped celery, the white bits from the scallions, and mushrooms, sometimes an egg. While it's not necessary, I always sprinkle a bit of MSG on everything before adding the sauce mix (mirin, soy, butter). It just helps give the vegetables some additional flavor. I wouldn't skip grating the tofu, especially if you haven't taken some preparatory steps for getting the moisture out. It helps cook out the water even faster, getting you to crispy in a matter of minutes. I also usually fry my rice with everything at the end.
Dari
France
8/26/2023
Super quick and easy — a go-to meal when I’m feeling lazy. The butter is optional IMO and the tofu is just as good crumbled to make it even easier.
Zea mays
6/19/2023
Delicious! Super fast and easy to put together. I was able to pull all of it together from things already in my pantry with some basic substitutions and additions: gochujang instead of allepo pepper, pure maple syrup instead of mirin. I added some ginger paste and bok choy. This is definitely going to be a quick-meal staple in my household! I squeezed out the water from the grated tofu in a cheesecloth and that was definitely helpful for me.
Annelisa
Chicago
1/23/2023