I’m embarrassed to admit that this the first Asian style dish that I have ever made from scratch. I love Asian food, but the thought of making it myself has always scared me a little bit. I was convinced that I would need to go to a specialty store and buy tons of ingredients that I would never use again.
Then I read my good friend Allison’s (from Clean Wellness) Peanut Cole Slaw recipe on Mind Body Green. It sounded so delicious and I was surprised that I actually already had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. The only ingredient that I had to hunt down was the miso. Long story short, if you are unfamiliar with miso, as I was, you will find it in the refrigerator section, not the Asian foods dry section! You will also find that it is so good and you want to put it in everything!
I finally decided that I wanted to make tofu salad sandwiches to enjoy with this dressing. I know it might sound kinda strange, but it was so good. And, this recipe would also work really well if you wanted to use chicken in place of the tofu. It is kind of like a sloppy joe, but with tofu, creamy peanut sauce, and vegetables!
Immediately after I made these sandwiches, I started to think of all the other ways this tofu salad could be enjoyed. If you want to ditch the bread, it would be so good in some lettuce wraps, or over a cole slaw. And, like I said before, if you are a meat eater it would taste just as great if you used chicken or ground turkey instead of tofu. After we ate our sandwiches we had a little bit leftover, so the next evening I cooked up some rice noodles and added the leftover tofu salad to them and sprinkled some chopped peanuts on top, it was so good, and so much better than the bottled peanut sauce I usually buy! My head is spinning with all the delicious possibilities!
I wanted to use a few of the same ingredients that Allison used in her peanut slaw sauce, but I also wanted this sauce to be creamy, so that it would really hold the tofu and vegetables together, so I added some veganaise (or you could use mayo). But, if you don’t want to use mayo, you could substitute olive oil instead. I know I say this about all dressings (My name is Isadora and I am a dressing addict), but this one really is good enough to drink! Ok, maybe you don’t want to drink it, but I won’t blame you if you eat a few spoonfuls just to make sure all the flavors are just perfect, it is very important that you do that!
Also, these go really well with sweet potato fries!
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Asian Tofu Salad Sandwiches {gf+v}
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 - 6 1x
Ingredients
- 14 ounces extra firm tofu, 1 container
- 1 tablespoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup thinly diced carrot
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
- 1/2 cup thinly diced sugar snap peas
- 1/2 cup thinly diced red bell pepper
- 4 – 6 hamburger buns, gluten free or regular, or lettuce cups
Creamy Peanut Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon veganaise or mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons peanuts, unsalted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons light yellow miso paste
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- Sriracha, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Drain the water from the tofu and pat dry. Pour olive oil into the hot pan and then crumble tofu in. Add liquid aminos, or soy sauce, and garlic powder. Cook over medium heat for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until tofu is light brown and crispy on the outside. Set aside.
- Add all of the peanut sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.
- In a large bowl, add the cooked tofu, vegetables, and peanut sauce. Stir until all ingredients are combined.
- Scoop tofu salad mixture onto hamburger buns and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Asian, Sandwich, Gluten Free, Vegan
Kind of obsessed with this sandwich, it’s beautiful! The Asian ingredients aisle always seems a bit daunting. I think you pulled it off perfectly, and with the use of tofu I want to try it more often! Pinning this š
Thank you so much Jessica! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks that aisle is daunting! Thank you so much for pinning! š
That dressing sounds incredible! This is all around an amazing sounding sandwich. I usually avoid making Asian dishes at home, even though I keep buying weird specialty ingredients as I’m walking through the international aisle at my grocery store…. I think I might just be lazy? This sounds tasty enough to get over my laziness and try something new!
Thanks Kelly! I’m so glad to hear that I am not the only one who is scared of making Asian food! I’m the same as you, sometimes I just grab ingredients because they sound interesting and they just sit in the cupboard for years. It always just seems much easier to go out to eat where I know I will get a great dish, but once I have all the ingredients things are much cheaper to cook at home. I need to get over my laziness too!
I believe I DO have all the ingredients in my pantry to make this! Just must run out and buy tofu. YES!
Yah! That is definitely a sign from the heavens that you should make these!
Asian tofu sloppy joes are brilliant!! I’m so impressed by these. You also sold me on that peanut sauce. I’ll definitely have to give that one a try!
And I also know what you mean about feeling intimidated by Asian cooking. I’m the same way. Oh, and Indian food too. I feel like nothing I make could ever come close to the authentic version!
Thank you Sarah!! I’m the same way about Indian food! I think I’m even way more scared of it than Asian food. Thank goodness Mexican food is so easy to cook or else I would starve, or be broke from going out to eat all the time!
It’s 10:30 at night and I’m craving lunch… what have you done to me?! I love the look of these so much and I’m a sucker for peanut sauce. I’ve been seeing a ton of burgers around recently, but obviously none that are vegan, so this is super exciting and welcome š
Haha, Sorry! I’m such a sucker for peanut sauce too! I’m not even joking when I say that I like to eat it with a spoon! Yah! I’m so glad you like this one!
I literally just finished lunch and your pictures have just made me hungry! We eat tofu all the time and its getting a bit boring- this to tofu sandwich looks so fresh and different. Pinning and trying this to jazz up our tofu routine! Where did you go to school in NC? I’m a Raleigh girl and went to ASU and NC State.
Haha! Sorry about that! Jazzing up the tofu routine is very important! I get into tofu ruts too and have been needing to experiment more with it lately. I hope you guys love this tofu sandwich! I went to school in Asheville at Warren Wilson, a small hippy school! I really miss North Carolina, but I’m pretty happy to be away from all the humidity!
And Iām VERY embarrassed to admit that I’ve never made any Asian style dish. I know it is awful, but my husband doesn’t like much soā¦ I prefer to cook what both enjoy. However, I think I should cook some Asia dish and seeā¦ Maybe he will eat it just because I am cooking š
Love the peanut butter sauce. Great recipe, Isa š
Don’t be embarrassed at all, Olivia!! The only Asian food I had ever cooked before this either came out of a box or was drenched with dressing that came out of a bottle. Not that I saw how easy this was, I’m definitely going to be making more of them! I like to think my husband will likes thinks because I am cooking them, but unfortunately that doesn’t always seem to be true, haha! But you never know, he might just surprise you!
This looks amazing, Izzy!
Thanks Jess!
Umm, yes. I am totally craving these sandwiches at nearly 10:30pm. I wonder if I could convince my family to make them for me now? LOL. Seriously, tho, Izzy! These sammies are ‘rockin! I love Asian food and that perfecto-looking peanut sauce is literally calling out to me. Yumm-o! š
Sarah! These are the perfect sandwiches to have for a midnight snack, haha! You should totally wake up your younger siblings and demand that they make you these sandwiches!! Asian food is the best and for some reason I just don’t eat it regularly, but I think I need to change that asap! I think I’m going to be putting this peanut sauce on everything from now on š
I have to admit, I shy away from cooking with tofu even though I really like it. Mostly because I am not sure how to prepare it right. This sandwich looks really good Izzy. I’m going to try it.
Hi Kathy! I always just crisp it up in a frying pan with some seasonings, that is my favorite way to cook and eat it! You should try it out, I think you would really like it!
This looks so yummy! Asian food kind of intimidates me to cook too, I’m not quite sure why though because I love it! The peanut sauce sounds absolutely delicious and your pictures are gorgeous.
Thank you so much, Danielle! I’m the same way, I love it so much but just don’t feel like I can do it justice when I make it at home. I’m definitely going to be more adventurous with it now!
What a fun dish! I love all the colors and different textures in this, I bet it was fantastic! What kind of tofu do you use? I was a vegetarian for years and I never liked tofu but maybe I just didn’t know how to cook it. I want to give it another try!
Thanks Annie!! It was really fun taking these pictures because the sandwiches were so colorful! I used extra firm tofu, I think that is the only tofu I’ve ever bought because it is much easier to cook with than the softer ones. I love crisping the tofu up in a pan with some soy sauce, or tamari, and spices. It gets salty and crispy and even my meat loving husband enjoys it! I feel like tofu is kinda like chicken, it pretty much takes on any flavor you put on it. You definitely should give it another try!
I hadn’t thought of making tofu salad sandwiches either. I bet tempeh would be a good sub for tofu as well. Love your peanut-miso dressing!
Thank you Katie! That is a great idea to use tempeh in place of the tofu! That would be so good! No food is safe from this peanut dressing!
This sandwich looks delicious! Beautiful pictures! I love anything with peanut sauce, so this is right up my alley. Like you mentioned, I love that this can be turned into a salad, too. And thanks for the tip about the miso…I would’ve been searching for hours! š
Thank you so much, Gayle! I could literally eat anything also, as long as it is covered in peanut sauce! I can’t believe it took me so long to make my own. I was searching for the miso for days! I went to 3 different grocery stores and finally gave up and then I was buying eggs and there the miso was, just sitting in the refrigerator section! I was so happy!
These sound delicious! And healthy too. What a great lunch for a hot summer day.
Thanks Natalie! It is definitely a great summer lunch idea, except, unfortunately, I can’t enjoy it outside on the porch because it is above 100 degrees here! I’ll gladly eat it inside with the AC basting though š
You had me at peanut sauce! This looks absolutely delicious! I would have never thought of preparing tofu this way, but you’ve convinced me!
Thanks Leah! I think I could eat anything as long as it was covered with peanut sauce! I love making tofu like this because it is in such small pieces that it really gets crispy and tastes delicious! I’m glad I convinced you š
This looks delicious! I could drink peanut sauce! That stuff is amazing! I use to be nervous about making Asian foods. I never felt like I could the recipes right. Over the years I’ve found it isn’t nearly as scary as I initially thought. Haha. Great recipe and fantastic meal. Pinning!
Thanks Cindy! There is a good chance that I might have drank a little bit of this sauce, haha! I always felt like I wouldn’t be able to get all the flavors right too, but after making this sauce, I just want to make more Asian foods! Hopefully I’ll feel even more confident with the more practice I get. Thanks for pinning š
Hi Izzy!
I think your sandwich looks absolutely delicious, although my husband is peeking over my shoulder right now hinting that we go with your suggestion to substitute chicken or turkey or the tofu. I think he might win this one. I love that roll you’re serving in on, it looks so good right now!
I’ve never heard of miso and I always worry like you when buying Asian ingredients that I’ll never use them again either. Peanut sauce is my husbands absolutely favorite thing in the world, we always go to his favorite Asian restaurant each year on his birthday for the peanut sauce. He’s always asking me to make it and I guess I just have this blank stare on my face. I’m going to have to try yours! The possibilities of using peanut sauce for, hmmm, up-and-coming cooks like myself are endless. Husband just wants to drink it. Or inhale it.
Hi Laura! Thank you so much! Haha, chicken or turkey would be so good with this recipe too and probably more man friendly! My mom used miso a lot when I was a kid and I remember thinking it was so strange and not liking it much, but now I love it! It is a salty paste that I see used in a lot of Asian recipes, I have a whole tub of it and I have vowed to experiment with it and not let it go to waste! Your husband is a smart man, haha, My husband and I are pretty obsessed with peanut sauce too. I’m guilty of wanting to drink it also! You should really try to make this one, it was so easy and like I said before, not too many strange ingredients. I definitely plan on experimenting with more peanut sauces in the very near future!
Oh man, peanut sauce is my weakness!! I love that stuff! This sandwich looks awesome – tofu is one of those things I need to play around with more.
And your cat photo – totally awesome : )
Peanut sauce is my weakness too! And it seems to go perfectly with everything, so that works out well! The only way I ever cook tofu is to saute it in a pan with some olive oil, spices, and soy sauce until it is crispy. My super picky, meat loving husband even loves it that way, so I take that to be a good sign š
Cheeto is pretty obsessed with boxes š
Ahh! I’m famous! Thank you for the shout out! I am tickled pink! You’re the best, Izzy! Seriously. Big hugs š
This meal looks so delicious! I have never thought of making tofu salad sandwiches with an Asian twist -that’s really unique! I’ve only ever seen the “egg” ones with the turmeric… I must try this at once! Now I’m the one out of miso and it makes mi-so sad (that will never get old!). I love this as an alternative to a veggie burger and I reallllllly love coleslaw or cabbage on sandwiches. I want a bite! And I just love that Cheeto shot. So expressive. He’s like, hey what’s up guys? The casual cat. I think Cheeto needs his own comic strip -watch out Garfield!
Al! Yes, you are famous! At least in my house, haha! Also, you really are the best! You peanut slaw inspired me to overcome my Asian cooking fear and now I can’t be stopped! š Mi-so happy I don’t have to buy the bottled sauce anymore, and I agree, that will never get old! It did take me a while to settle on tofu salad sandwiches, and I went thought a few recipes in my head before I landed on these, one of them being a pickled tofu sandwich, lol, I think it is for the best that that one never came to be! I also really love coleslaw on sandwiches! I went to school in North Carolina and we would have lots of big picnics with pulled pork and BBQ tofu sandwiches topped with delicious coleslaw, it is the only way to eat a BBQ sandwich!
I always say, you put a box down and a cat shows up, haha! A Cheeto comic strip is a amazing idea! Garfield, here we come!