Silken Tofu with Black Bean Mushroom Sauce
Silken tofu with a rich and umami-packed black bean mushroom sauce. This is a simple meal you can prepare by cooking the sauce and then opening a back of silken tofu to pour the hearty sauce over. This is best enjoyed with a bowl of steamed rice to scoop the sauce over.
Ingredients
Silken Tofu
- 1 lb silken or soft tofu see notes
Mushrooms
- 4 small dried shiitake mushrooms soaked overnight then diced
- 1.7 oz oyster mushrooms or other mushrooms of choice, roughly chopped or diced
Black Bean Sauce
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 green onions chopped (white and green parts separated)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp black bean garlic sauce I use Lee Kum Kee’s (see notes)
- 1/2-1 tsp chili powder , I used gochugaru
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or more, adjust to taste
- 1/2-1 tbsp rice vinegar adjust to taste
- 1 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce optional for colour
- 1/2 cup mushroom water from the soaked shiitake or water
- 1/2 tbsp chilli oil optional for heat
Corn Starch Slurry
- 1 tbsp room temp water
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch
For Garnish
- Green onions
For Serving
- Steamed rice or cooked noodles
Instructions
- Soak the shiitake mushrooms until rehydrated. I leave mine soaked in a container with room temperature water overnight.
- Prepare the silken tofu: remove the silken tofu from the packaging and drain any excess water. You can leave it to sit on a plate while you prepare the sauce since the tofu will continue to release more water that you can discard later on before pouring the sauce.
- Prepare the black bean sauce: Heat a small sauce pan over medium. Add in the oil. Once hot, add in the white parts of the green onion. Sauce with the garlic until aromatic. Add in the diced mushrooms.
- Add in the black bean sauce or black beans, chili powder, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, dark mushroom soy sauce (if using), water, and chili oil (if using). Mix well.
- Mix the corn starch slurry: in a small bowl mix together the corn starch and water.
- Over medium heat, pour the slurry into the black bean mushroom sauce. Leave to simmer and mix until the sauce thickens from the starch. Taste the sauce and season more if needed. Turn off the heat.
- Discard any excess water from the tofu. Pour the sauce over the silken tofu and top with the green onions. Serve and enjoy with a bowl of steamed rice.
Notes
SILKEN TOFU
- You can cut the tofu into cubes and mix into the sauce after cooking if you’d like. You can also quickly microwave the tofu fro 45-60 seconds if you want it warm.
WHAT CAN I USE INSTEAD OF MUSHROOMS?
- You can substitute the mushrooms with plant-based mince or ground for an even heartier and meatier bite and texture! Do note that some plant-based ground meat alternatives are already seasoned so you can lessen the soy sauce or leave it out when seasoning the sauce.
BLACK BEAN SAUCE
- I use Lee Kum Kee’s black bean garlic sauce that I always have readily available in my pantry. I love fermented black beans because of the umami they have. They’re very salty so a little goes a long way! If you don’t have Lee Kum Kee’s sauce, you can use regular fermented black beans.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 313kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 781mg | Potassium: 628mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please leave a rating or comment and share a photo on Instagram, and tag me @thefoodietakesflight or use #thefoodietakesflight :)