Steamed Silken Tofu with Ginger and Fragrant Greens
Luscious steamed silken tofu topped with a fragrant green tangle of sauteed spinach, green onions, cilantro, ginger, and soy sauce is just the ticket for those days when you really need something delicious and comforting but don’t have too much energy to spare. Made with under 10 ingredients, fully cooked in about 15 minutes, and served with steamed rice adorned with Roasted Sesame Seed Salt, Steamed Silken Tofu with Ginger and Fragrant Greens is easy to prepare while nourishing the body and delighting the palate.
Servings: 2 Serves 2-4 depending on appetite, usually serves 3 at our house
Ingredients
- 400 gms silken or soft tofu, approx. *see note
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil, divided I use sunflower or safflower oil
- 125 gm bunched young spinach about half a bunch, well washed and dried
- 6 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, divided *see note
- 1 teaspoon sugar I use organic cane sugar
- 25 gm julienned ginger 2" lengths (about 4 tbsp), organic if possible
- 6 scallions cut into 2” lengths, white parts cut into halves or quarters if especially thick
- 50 gm cilantro, (1 small bunch) washed and dried, stems cut into 2” lengths, leaves reserved
- Extra low sodium soy sauce for serving optional
- Steamed short grain rice with Roasted Sesame Seed Salt optional
Instructions
- Prepare your steamer, with a heatproof trivet on the bottom of a large pot big enough to accommodate a lipped plate or flat bottomed bowl that you will use for both steaming and serving. Make sure your dish is well above the water level and that a lid will fit on top of the pot. See notes below for more information on steamer set ups.
- Set a large saute pan on medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the spinach and stir fry until the stems are tender and bendable, about 5 minutes, adding 1 teaspoon of soy sauce about half way through. When tender, remove the spinach from the pan, roughly chop on a cutting board, and set aside nearby. You will use this pan again.
- Carefully remove your tofu from its packaging (see notes below for handling tips) and place the entire block onto the dish you will be using for both steaming and serving. Using a butter or table knife, gently cut the tofu, while it is in the dish, into 1” slices, and if you have room in your dish, gently push the slices over to fan out a bit.
- Place the dish containing the tofu into your steamer set up (making sure you have put water in the bottom of the pot), put the lid on your pot, and turn the heat to high. Steam for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, turn off the heat, leave the pot where it is and put the chopped spinach on top of the tofu to warm, keeping the lid on top. You will notice liquid has seeped out of the tofu and this will be removed before serving.
- Put the remaining soy sauce into a small cup with the sugar and give it a little mix so the sugar starts to dissolve; set aside.
- While the tofu is steaming, using the same saute pan you already used, set on medium heat, add the remaining oil (5 tsp), and once hot, add the ginger and let it frizzle for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to avoid too much sticking. Then add the white parts of the green onion and the cilantro stems and stir fry for another 2 minutes or so, then finally add the rest of the green onion for another 3 minutes. Add the cilantro leaves for a final minute, then add the soy sauce sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Using a spoon or a turkey baster, remove the tofu liquid that has accumulated inside the steaming/serving dish and discard. Lift your bowl gently out of the steamer, mound the fragrant greens on top of the spinach (that is already on top of the tofu) and if you like, add a few more extra teaspoons of soy sauce to the bottom of your dish to add to the juices collecting there. Serve with rice on the side, dig in, and enjoy!
Notes
On handling tofu:
If you are using silken tofu, which is generally not packed in water, peel the plastic top of the tofu package off and then gently turn it upside down onto your steaming dish. Using a small kitchen knife, make a small puncture at two or more corners of the package - you may even hear a bit of air being sucked in - then a bit of a wiggle of the packaging and introduction of air into those small slits should have your tofu sliding out of the package onto your dish.
If you are using soft tofu, which is quite similar to silken tofu and just a shade less fragile, you will probably find that it comes packed in water. Peel the corner of the package off just a bit, carefully drain the water out, then peel off the entire lid and refill the package with fresh water to give the tofu a rinse. Then just gently tip out the soft block onto your cooking dish.
On setting up a DIY steamer:
For my adhoc set up, I place a heatsafe metal trivet on the bottom of a big pot, add 3 or 4 cups of water, and then I place my steaming dish on top. If you don’t have anything similar, you can use an upside down metal or silicone steamer basket, or an upturned heatsafe bowl or pyrex container instead. Removing the dish when it is hot and ready is also something that requires a moment of planning - with my setup I know I can fit a thin spatula underneath to gently lift the dish up, and I have little silicon grabbers to hold the edges of the hot dish as it comes out. As an alternative, fold a long piece of aluminum foil into thick ribbon and place it under your dish, making sure enough comes out the sides to grab and lift when you are ready to do so, and voila, your DIY steamer is ready to go!
On the type of soy sauce used:
As there is a generous amount of soy sauce in this dish, I find readily available low sodium soy sauce works well and does not leave you with an oversalted dish.