What to cook with tofu: 7 quick ideas

Tofu is cheap, keeps well, and soaks up whatever sauce you give it. The trick is matching the type to the dish: soft/silken for soups and steaming, firm for frying and stir-fries. Here are seven quick ideas for 1–2, sorted by how much effort they ask of you.

No real cooking

• Smashed Cucumber & Tofu Salad — silky tofu and cool smashed cucumber with a garlic-soy-sesame dressing. Ten minutes, no stove.
• Miso Soup with Tofu — a soothing bowl of miso broth, silken tofu and spring onion. A light meal or a side.

Crispy and satisfying

• Teriyaki Tofu Bowl — cornstarch-coated tofu fried golden, then glazed and served over rice with broccoli.
• Soy-Glazed Pan Tofu — a fast, savoury pan-fried tofu that goes with anything.
• Tauhu Goreng — Malaysian fried tofu under a sweet-spicy peanut sauce with crunchy sprouts.

The key to crispy tofu is getting the water out first — here’s how to press and prep tofu so it browns instead of steaming.

Bold and spicy

• Quick Mapo Tofu — soft tofu in a savoury, gently numbing sauce over rice. A 15-minute Sichuan classic.
• Tahu Telur — an Indonesian tofu omelette, crisp at the edges, with a sweet-soy dressing.

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One principle ties these together: firm tofu wants heat and a dry surface; soft tofu wants gentle liquid. Get that right and a cheap block becomes dinner. Tell OneToCook what’s in your fridge and it’ll rank these by what you already have — or browse more Chinese and quick salad ideas.