Silken tofu with spicy no-cook sauce

As I scroll vegetarian recipe sites, blogs, and videos, it seems like everyone in my (American-centric) feed is trying to make tofu as meat-like as possible, or otherwise into something it's not. Recipes call for pressing it, freezing it, marinating it, frying it, or blending it into smoothies and mousses. I love these as much as the next person, but I also appreciate tofu in its original form. What if, instead of trying to make tofu taste meatier, we embrace its egg-like custardy side?

This recipe takes delicate silken tofu and simply drapes it in a delicious spicy dressing. This idea is nothing new. Silken tofu with a simple sauce is commonly eaten with rice as a simple meal in many Asian cultures. This dish reminds me of mapo tofu or Korean tofu stew, both of which involve simmering a bunch of umami-rich ingredients into a saucy silken tofu stew. However, here, no cooking is required. Simply pour on the dressing, serve with a side of rice and veggies or kimchi, and you're good to go! This can be served cool, which is really refreshing on a hot summer day. Alternatively, you can microwave the whole block of tofu with its dressing, inviting the tofu to slurp up the sauce and warm through. 

Notes on ingredients: silken tofu is a completely different texture from other types of tofu. It is like a custard. Do not substitute other types here. The heart of this sauce is spicy Asian chili paste. Chili crisp, a mix of chili peppers, Szechuan peppers, and toasted onion and garlic, is essential here and fortunately is now readily found at some grocery stores, Amazon, or Asian grocers. If you're able to, finding doenjang or gochujang at an Asian grocery store is a fabulous bonus addition. These are deeply funky, umami fermented pepper and soybean pastes from the Sichuan region or Korea, respectively. 

The dressing below also makes an excellent dressing for vegetables like cucumbers or carrots. I like to double the dressing recipe and mix half of it with a thinly sliced cucumber for a refreshing and spicy side (shown above in picture). 

1 block silken tofu

1 T 1 t white or rice vinegar
1 T doenjang or gochujang (optional)

1 T chili crisp

1 t sugar
2 t soy sauce

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t toasted sesame oil

Optional accompaniments 
sliced green onions
sesame seeds
sliced cucumber

kimchi

Silken tofu is delicate and will break apart easily, so treat it as gently as possible, avoiding stirring it or moving it a lot. Peel or cut off the plastic lid of the tofu. Leaving the tofu in the container, run your knife through it in a grid pattern to cut it into bite-sized chunks. Place a bowl on top of the tofu container, and then flip it over so that the tofu cubes fall into the bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together all other ingredients, then pour this sauce on top of tofu, letting it seep into the space between slices. You can jiggle it a little to help the sauce move around. Serve as is, or microwave for 2 minutes if you prefer a warm dish.