Directions

Read and gather

For the whole recipe

Read through the recipe and gather the equipment. Use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything, patting the tofu cubes dry with a towel. Everything is measured and the tofu is dry.

Whisk the peanut sauce

For each skillet batch

Whisk 1 can light coconut milk, about 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, 1 tsp sriracha and 1/2 tsp ground chile pepper in the bowl until the sauce is smooth.

Heat the oil and cook the carrots and pepper

For each skillet batch

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until they are just tender at the edges, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the tofu and brown it

For each skillet batch

Add 14 oz firm tofu and cook over medium-high heat, turning the cubes gently with the spatula, until they are lightly browned on two sides, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Pour in the sauce and simmer

For each skillet batch

Pour in the sauce, stir to coat the tofu and vegetables, and simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to low and wilt the spinach

For each skillet batch

Turn the burner to low heat and stir in about 4 cups baby spinach a handful at a time until it wilts.

Taste the sauce and adjust

For each skillet batch

Taste the sauce with a piece of tofu. Aim for nutty, salty-sweet and bright, with gentle heat. If it tastes flat, add soy sauce to taste. If it tastes heavy, add fresh lime juice to taste. The sauce tastes balanced and bright.

Spoon over rice and serve

For the whole recipe

Spoon the tofu, vegetables and sauce over about 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice divided among bowls to make 4 servings. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat them to 165°F (74°C). Each bowl has rice, tofu, vegetables and sauce.

About this recipe

Why it works

Whisking the sauce before cooking lets it go in all at once, browning the tofu gives it a firmer surface that holds up in the sauce, and adding the spinach at the end keeps it bright.

Associated with

Contemporary American home cooking, inspired by Southeast Asian peanut sauces

The sauce follows the peanut-sauce family whose Indonesian form, bumbu kacang, combines peanuts with coconut milk and soy sauce; tofu and quick skillet cooking come from Chinese cooking. It is not a named traditional dish.

Taste

Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Savory
Heat

Peanut butter, coconut milk and soy sauce make a rich, savory-sweet sauce., Lime brightens it, and sriracha and ground chile add moderate heat. · crisp-tender carrots and pepper and browned tofu in a creamy sauce, over chewy brown rice · hot

Skill level

Easy

One skillet, and no doneness temperature for the tofu.

You'll practice: Whisk a no-cook sauce, Sauté vegetables, Brown tofu in a skillet, Wilt greens at the end

Allergens

Contains: peanuts, soy, wheat.

Check the sriracha label for sulfites.

Diets

Vegetarian: Fits as listedPescatarian: Fits as listedVegan: Depends on what you buyDairy: See the allergen linesEgg: See the allergen linesGluten: See the allergen lines

Occasions

Lenten abstinence days (Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent) · fits the abstinence rule
No meat is listed.
Abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday (Easter minus 46 days), Good Friday (Easter minus 2 days) and every Friday of Lent.
Next: February 10, 2027 (expected)
Next: February 12, 2027 (expected)
Next: February 19, 2027 (expected)
Next: February 26, 2027 (expected)
Next: March 5, 2027 (expected)
Next: March 12, 2027 (expected)
Next: March 19, 2027 (expected)
Next: March 26, 2027 (expected)
Orthodox Great Lent · fits with a change
Plant-based; on strict fast days use a non-olive oil, or cook without oil where your parish applies the rule to all oils.
Great Lent runs from Clean Monday (Orthodox Pascha minus 48 days) to Holy Saturday; strict days exclude meat, dairy, eggs, fish with a backbone, olive oil and wine, with weekend and feast relaxations. Practice varies by parish.
Next: March 15, 2027 (expected)

Course: main-dish · Technique: saute · Time: 30-to-60-minutes

Serving and keeping

Best served: Right after the spinach wilts Spooned over warm brown rice

Make ahead: Cook the vegetables and tofu and add the spinach just before serving.

Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C), covered. Freezing is not recommended: the tofu and spinach lose texture.

Leftovers: The sauce thickens in the fridge; loosen it with a little water when reheating.

Food safety

Cool cooked rice and refrigerate it within 2 hours if it is not eaten right away.
Rinse the carrots, pepper, ginger and spinach under running water before cutting.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165 °F (74 °C).

We make no statement about cross-contact in your kitchen or in packaged ingredients. Check the soy sauce, sriracha and peanut butter labels.

Nutrition notes

Most of the sodium comes from the soy sauce, with some from the peanut butter. Reduced-sodium soy sauce and unsalted peanut butter keep it lower.

Brown sugar is the added sugar; halving it still balances the lime and chile.

Swap notes

olive oil · orthodox.fast_strict
Works with changes
Use: a neutral vegetable oil
What changes: Where your parish applies the oil rule to all oils, cook the vegetables in a little water instead.
Not a swap: Olive oil on strict fast days.
garlic · jain.standard
Works with changes
Use: green beans or more bell pepper in place of the carrots, garlic and ginger, and more ground chile in place of the sriracha
What changes: Milder and less aromatic.
Not a swap: Garlic or onion powder.
garlic · buddhist.five_pungent
Works with changes
Use: more ground chile in place of the garlic and the sriracha
What changes: Less pungent.
Not a swap: Any chili sauce that lists garlic, including most sriracha.
brown sugar · vegan
Works with changes
Use: organic or beet brown sugar
What changes: No change to the method.
Not a swap: Brown sugar processed with bone char.
soy sauce
Works with changes
Use: reduced-sodium soy sauce, with unsalted peanut butter
What changes: Less salty; taste and adjust with lime.
Not a swap: Extra salt at the end, which adds sodium back.
brown sugar
Works with changes
Use: half the brown sugar
What changes: Slightly tarter and hotter.
Not a swap: Honey or syrup in its place, which adds sugar back.
firm tofu · passover.ashkenazi
Not recommended
Not a swap: Tofu, peanuts, rice and soy sauce are kitniyot or chametz; little of the dish would remain.

These notes don't change the amounts, allergens or nutrition shown for this recipe.

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Recipe url: https://isthebestrecipe.com/vegetables/tofu-and-vegetables-in-peanut-sauce
Name: Tofu and Vegetables in Peanut Sauce
Servings: 4
Recipe yield: 4 servings
Recipe ingredient: 1 can light coconut milk a 14-ounce (400 ml) can, about 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar packed, 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, 1 tsp sriracha, 1/2 tsp ground chile pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 whole medium carrots diced, 1 whole medium red bell pepper diced, 14 oz firm tofu drained, patted dry and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes, 4 cloves garlic minced, 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced, about 4 cups baby spinach, about 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice hot
Copy action wording: Copy recipe and estimated nutrition

Tofu and Vegetables in Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Before you start

Directions

Read and gather

Whisk the peanut sauce

Heat the oil and cook the carrots and pepper

Add the tofu and brown it

Pour in the sauce and simmer

Turn the heat to low and wilt the spinach

Taste the sauce and adjust

Spoon over rice and serve

About this recipe

Why it works

Associated with

Taste

Skill level

Allergens

Diets

Occasions

Serving and keeping

Food safety

Nutrition notes

Swap notes

For your food tracker

Make it the best

Nutrition Values

Your notes

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