This Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn is a wonderful Asian-inspired tofu recipe. Preparation is pretty fast, too—perfect for a lazy end-of-summer meal. It’s beautiful, too.
Curious about tofu? Tofu was first produced in China more than 2000 years ago, probably as a happy accident when someone curdled soy milk while adding nigari seaweed, a coagulating agent.
The tofu we buy in stores today has a lot of healthy features. It is protein rich and the protein is a complete protein. That means that tofu contains all nine essential amino acids. Too, tofu is rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It is also a low calorie food that contains no cholesterol.
But, which to buy–soft or hard tofu? It depends upon what you are cooking. Soft tofu contains more water and has a soft, custardy texture, making it better for soups and desserts. Hard (or extra hard) tofu is pressed to remove more of the water in its base. Hard tofu is better for stir-fry and grilling recipes where you want the tofu to hold its shape while cooking.
This recipe is from Melissa Clark’s cookbook Dinner: Changing The Game. The book is available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn
Ingredients
- 4 large garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 small jalapeno peppers (thinly sliced)
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 1 1/2 t. fresh ginger (grated and peeled)
- 1 1/2 T. fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 t. sesame oil
- 1 t. honey
- 2 T. peanut oil
- 1 package extra-firm tofu (14 to 16 ounces, drained, dried and cut into cubes)
- Fine sea salt
- 2 C. corn kernels
- 3 scallions (thinly sliced)
- 1 C. cherry tomatoes (halved)
- Toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)
- Cilantro (chopped, for garnish)
- Fresh corn kernels (for garnish)
Directions
- Step 1 To make the marinade, combine the garlic, chiles, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, sesame oil and honey. Set aside.
- Step 2 Heat a large skillet over high heat. When the skillet is very hot, add a bit of sesame oil and heat for another 30 seconds. Add the tofu but don’t stir it in the pan for at least 2 to 3 minutes. You want the side of the tofu that is in contact with the skillet to begin to brown. After 3 minutes, toss the tofu and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
- Step 3 Add the corn, tomatoes, and scallions to the hot skillet along with a bit more peanut oil. Stir-fry the corn and scallions for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the soy sauce marinade to the skillet and cook for about a minute. Return the tofu to the pan, stir and spoon some of the marinade over the tofu.
- Step 4 Spoon the tofu mixture onto a serving plate and sprinkle with garnishes and a scoop of rice.
