How To Turn A Block Of Tofu Into An Irresistible Meal (Or Two)

If you’ve ever dismissed tofu as bland or boring, you’re not alone, but you might just be preparing it the wrong way. Tofu’s reputation for being flavorless has less to do with tofu itself and more to do with how it’s handled. In a new video, Nisha Vora shares the trick that changed everything for her: grating tofu.

Vora, the creator behind Rainbow Plant Life, is known for her inventive and practical vegan recipes. In this video, she teaches her audience how to elevate a block of tofu without pressing, marinating, or baking.

Read more: How To Cook Tofu Three Ways

Find out more about this easy method and how to make eating tofu more fun below.

The magic of grated tofu

Vora uses a super firm block of tofu and skips the pressing altogether. After drying it off, she grates it on the large holes of a box grater. “You get these tiny shreds, so you have a lot of surface area,” she says. That means it crisps up fast and absorbs flavor better than cubes or slabs.

What’s left is a pile of tofu that looks surprisingly like shredded cheese. “Honestly, kind of looks like grated mozzarella,” Vora says. She slices up a few aromatics – scallions, garlic, and Thai chilies – before frying everything in a hot skillet with oil.

Once golden, crispy bits form on the tofu, she adds a punchy five-ingredient sauce made from soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, toasted sesame oil, Korean chili flakes (gochugaru), and a touch of sugar. “It tastes like it has this really rich, developed flavor,” she explains, thanks to the deep umami notes in each component.

After tossing the tofu in the sauce, she finishes it with roasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions, and fresh cilantro. “The texture is unreal,” she says. “You would be hard-pressed to believe this is tofu.”

Dinner idea #1: Grated tofu rice bowls with smashed cucumber salad

Vora’s favorite way to serve the savory tofu is in a rice bowl with a smashed cucumber salad. She makes jasmine rice in an Instant Pot and preps Persian cucumbers by smashing them with a rolling pin. “Save this for a day when you need to get a lot of stress out,” she jokes.

She tosses the cucumbers in salt to draw out moisture and then mixes them with a dressing made from chili crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and grated garlic. Roasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro finish the salad.

For the rice, she folds in chopped cilantro and more sesame seeds for flavor and texture. The final bowl is a balance of “crunchy cucumbers, meaty chewy tofu, soft rice,” she says. “It is a textural wonderland.”

Dinner idea #2: Vietnamese-inspired tofu lettuce wraps

The second idea uses the same tofu, this time layered in lettuce wraps with sticky sushi rice, shredded carrots, fresh herbs, and a tangy vegan nước chấm dipping sauce.

Her vegan version of the Vietnamese classic combines lime juice, vegan fish sauce, agave, and bird’s eye chilies. She builds the wraps with scoops of sushi rice, tofu, peanuts, mint, Thai basil, and a drizzle of sauce. “Serve these beautiful lettuce wraps with extra sauce on the side for dipping,” she says.

With this grating method and her signature sauces, Vora turns tofu into something entirely new; something crispy, chewy, rich with flavor, and endlessly adaptable. Whether you pile it over rice or tuck it into lettuce leaves, this is the version of tofu with the power to win people over.

Find more of Nisha Vora’s plant-based recipes on her Rainbow Plant Life YouTube channel.

Read more: This Crispy Tofu Sandwich Is The Star Of Summer Lunches