My friend came for dinner last week and brought the new peanut butter miso cookie from our friend Kimberly, who owns Factory Girl Bake Shop.
The combination is genius — the miso dovetails beautifully with peanut, and its saltiness makes you want another bite. Kimberly got the balance just right, so you don't necessarily know the cookie has miso. It just makes you think, "Damn, that's a good peanut butter cookie."
As soon as I tasted it, I knew I'd work that combo into a peanut sauce for this week's recipe.
Like most peanut sauces, this one is a little sweet, a little tangy, and deliciously rich and savory. In fact, it's so substantial that it’s really part of the meal — not just a flavor enhancer.
While you could put the sauce on many things (noodles, chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, to name a few ideas), I toss it here with slaw (yep, the pre-cut bagged kind), then drizzle it over the fried tofu that goes on top.
Most peanut sauces call for creamy peanut butter, but I opt for chunky because I like the little bit of crunch. I also use "all-natural" peanut butter (meaning they're not blended with sweeteners or other oil) because I have it on hand.
The texture of all-natural peanut butter can vary widely depending on the brand and how well-stirred it is, so you will need to adjust the consistency of your sauce with water to your liking.
To fry the tofu, I don't press the block in advance. And I don't dust it with starch. These techniques might lead to crispier outcomes, but the extra fuss prevents me from wanting to work too often with tofu.
To make sure the tofu browns and to minimize spattering, I do make sure the pieces are nice and dry when I add them to the pan.
In her incredible forthcoming book, Ever-Green Vietnamese, my friend Andrea Nguyen salts her tofu about 15 minutes before cooking it to help it release moisture and season it all the way through. (Andrea also wrote an entire book about tofu that you must read if you ever want to do a deep dive.)
Here, I instruct that you season the tofu and let it hand out while you make the sauce. If you have a time, let the tofu stand for that full 15 minutes, or even longer.
You can fry the tofu until it's a pale flaxen color, so it's lightly crisp on the outside and more custardy within. Or you can take it darker, so it's crisp and almost crunchy on the exterior and a bit dryer and more chewy inside.
I like the tofu both ways and can't decide which I like better, so I do both!
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Pan-Fried Tofu and Slaw with Peanut-Miso Sauce
Serves 4
Time: 30 mins
One 14 or 16 ounce package extra firm tofu
Salt
½ cup peanut butter (I used natural chunky-style)
¼ cup white miso (shiro miso)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola, safflower, or grapeseed
One 16-ounce bag coleslaw mix
½ cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
Dry and slice the tofu
Open and drain the tofu and pat the block dry. Set the tofu so one of its long sides is facing you and slice it into slabs that are about ½ inch thick. Cut each of the slabs in half to form pieces you’d eat in about two bites.
Arrange the tofu pieces between layers of clean kitchen towels or paper towels to drain and season both sides with salt.
Make the peanut-miso sauce
In a medium bowl, start whisking together the peanut butter, miso, vinegar, honey, and chili garlic sauce, then whisk in ¼ cup water to thin it out. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce reaches a pourable but still thick consistency. (How much water you add will depend a bit on the consistency of your peanut butter.)
Dip a bite of the slaw in the sauce and taste. Add more vinegar or chili garlic sauce, if desired, to taste.
Fry the tofu
In a large nonstick or well-seasoned skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Set up a rack near the stove or a plate lined with paper towels.
Pat the tofu dry.
When the oil is hot (it will look loose and shimmery), add half the tofu arranging the pieces so there is space between each.
Fry the tofu for 2 to 3 minutes if you’d like golden, lightly crisp tofu or 3 to 4 minutes for golden brown, crunchier tofu.
Carefully flip the pieces and fry the other side to your liking. Transfer the fried tofu to the prepared rack or plate and fry the remaining tofu.
Dress the slaw and serve
Put the slaw into a large bowl, pour about half the sauce over it, and toss. Add the ½ cup cilantro and toss again.
Divide the slaw among bowls and top with the tofu. Drizzle a bit more sauce over the tofu and garnish with more cilantro. Serve, passing more sauce at the table.
The short version
Slice the tofu into ½ inch slabs then cut the slabs in half crosswise. Arrange the pieces in a towel and season the pieces with salt.
In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter, miso, vinegar, honey, and chili garlic sauce with ¼ cup water. Then add more water as you like. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
In a large nonstick or well-seasoned skillet, heat the oil and fry the tofu over medium heat.
Toss the slaw with about half the peanut sauce and then the cilantro. Serve with the tofu and more peanut sauce, garnishing with cilantro.
Swaps
Instead of tofu, cook chicken fingers following my instructions here. Or top with some hard-boiled eggs.
Instead of peanut butter, use cashew butter.
Instead of miso, use 2 tablespoons soy sauce and adjust the amount of water as necessary. (The miso thickens the sauce while the soy will thin it out.)
Instead of rice vinegar, use lime juice, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
Instead of honey or maple syrup, use sugar.
Instead of coleslaw, use broccoli slaw.
Instead of chili-garlic sauce, use red chili sambal or Sriracha. (The Sriracha will bring more sweetness to the sauce.)
Bonus points
If you want to bulk this out further, serve alongside hard-boiled eggs or cooked rice.
If you want a more garlicky sauce, add 1 grated garlic clove.
If you want a ginger punch, add about 1 teaspoon grated ginger (from 1 inch).
If you enjoy raw shallots or scallions in your salads, add them!
Did you make this recipe?
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