The first time I made this dish I accidentally fooled everyone into thinking they were eating ground meat. I didn’t mean to — I love tofu, for what it’s worth. It’s just that’s how inconspicuous the tofu is here. It absorbs all the umami-laden flavor of the seasonings, including the chili crisp, which does a lot of heavy lifting. (No such thing as too much chili crisp, amirite?) Fragrant, slightly sweet coconut rice and crunchy cucumbers round out this heavy hitter of a one-dish meal.
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 pound firm tofu, rinsed and drained well
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chili crisp (I recommend Big Spoon Chili Crisp)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- Torn basil leaves, for serving
- Whisk coconut milk, salt, and 1 cup water in a cold medium saucepan to combine. Add rice and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pan and reduce heat to low; cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let sit covered 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.
- Toss cucumbers, vinegar, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl to combine and let sit until ready to serve.
- Crumble tofu into small pieces (about the size of a pea). Heat avocado oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add tofu, shallots, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tofu is crisped, 11–13 minutes. Add chili crisp, soy sauce, and sesame oil and cook, stirring often, until well coated, about 1 minute. Stir in peanuts.
- Divide coconut rice and tofu among plates and top with marinated cucumbers and basil.