Vegan Char Siu (BBQ Tofu) Rice - 素叉烧饭
This vegan Char Siu (BBQ Tofu) Rice is really simple to make at home. The tofu is first coated with cornstarch then pan-fried until golden. Then, they are coated with a homemade Char Siu sauce for a delicious and glossy sheen. This meal is complete with a homemade ginger garlic chili sauce. Enjoy!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Rice Cooking Time (in rice cooker)40 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Keyword: CharSiu, rice, tofu
Servings: 3 people
Author: woonheng
- 16 oz firm tofu drained
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- oil for cooking
Ginger Rice (enough for 6 people)
- 3 cups rice
- a few slices of ginger [about 15g]
- 4 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pandan leaves knotted
- water (see notes)
Sweet Sauce Mix (optional)
Prepare the Ginger Rice
Wash and rinse Jasmine rice with cold water until the water turns clear (about three rinses). Drain out the water and set aside.
Heat a large pan and add 3 teaspoons of cooking oil. Sauté ginger slices until aromatic and continue to do the same for garlic.
Add the rice, salt, and butter then stir-fry all the mixture over medium low heat until fragrant. [This step is to dry up the rice as well.]
Transfer rice to the inner rice pot. Add the pandan leaves and water.
Cook the rice on 'white rice' settings. When ready, fluff the rice with fork before serving.
Prepare the vegan Char Siu (BBQ Tofu)
Combine all the char siu sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Cut tofu into 3 slabs, lengthwise. Rub all sides with cornstarch.
Heat a non-stick pan and add in a tablespoon of oil. Using low-medium heat, pan-fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides. Tip: Do not flip the tofu until a crust is formed.
Once the tofu is ready, add in the sauce. Coat each side with the sauce until the tofu has a nice glossy sheen. This process takes a little bit of time as you need to turn and coat each side evenly.
Remove the tofu from the pan and let them cool down completely before slicing it into slices.
Now, make the sweet sauce by mixing maple syrup and soy sauce with toasted sesame oil in a bowl. Or you can simply cook the sauce in the pan with the remaining oil in the pan.
- How much water needed for 3 cups of rice? I used about 1¼ cup water to 1 cup of rice depending on the brand of rice. Usually, I measure my water needed using the first crease of my index finger as a guideline which is also known as the Knuckle Method.
- Check this recipe for homemade vegan 'oyster' sauce.
- Best served with homemade Ginger Garlic Chili sauce.
- Thick dark soy sauce such as kicap manis will work great. Some brands label it as Thick Caramel sauce.