Name: Spicy Cold Tofu (Liángbàn Dòufǔ / 涼拌豆腐)
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: ChineseAsian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; 1½ teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger; 1 garlic clove , minced; 1 Thai chile , stemmed and sliced thin; 1 scallion , white and green parts separated and sliced thin; 14 ounces silken tofu , chilled; ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; ½ teaspoon sesame seeds , toasted

Why This Recipe Works

There’s something luxurious and refined about chilled silken tofu in the way it slips and slides across your palate. And yet making this dish could not be more effortless. Focus your energies instead on the presentation. Find a rustic-looking plate, shingle the silken tofu as uniformly as you can, and pick out only the choicest cilantro leaves, strewing them about in an artfully haphazard way.

Before You Begin

We prefer to use Chinese light soy sauce here. For a milder dish, remove the chile seeds before slicing. This dish is often served with century eggs to add a more savory element. If desired, peel and cut 1 or 2 century eggs into thin wedges and arrange around the platter before serving. This recipe is from A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes from China and Not China (But Still Really Chinese).

Instructions

Whisk soy sauce, oil, vinegar, sugar, ginger, and garlic in medium bowl until sugar has dissolved. Stir in Thai chile and scallion whites.

Slice tofu crosswise into ¾-inch-thick slabs or cut into 1‑inch pieces. Arrange tofu attractively on serving platter. Spoon dressing over tofu and sprinkle with scallion greens, cilantro, and sesame seeds. Serve.