Taohu Lap
Vegan Tofu LarbFor this dish, it’s important to use medium tofu in water. Medium tofu crumbles perfectly and mimics ground meat. If you find the tofu is a little too soft, you can press out excess moisture in a colander. Prelubricating the tofu with a little bit of oil also keeps it from sticking to the pan. Larb is a spicy acidic salad from the northeast of Thailand usually made with ground meat. It’s great alone or as a protein side with crunchy cold vegetables.
Ingredients
MAKES: 4–6 SERVINGS
- 1½ lb 680 g medium tofu in water, drained
- 1 tbsp 15 ml tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp 30 ml canola or other high-temperature cooking oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large shallot thinly sliced
- ¼ cup 60 ml vegetarian fish sauce or Thai soybean sauce
- ½ cup 120 ml fresh lime juice
- ½ cup 110 g palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1 –2 tsp Thai chili powder
- ½ cup 46 g mint leaves
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup 55 g roasted rice powder (see Pro Tip)
- 3 –4 scallions chopped
- Carrot sticks 4–5 inches (10–13 cm) long, for serving
- Long beans or other green beans 4–5 inches (10–13 cm) long, for serving
- Lettuce leaves in 4–5-inch (10–13-cm) pieces, for serving
- Green cabbage in 4–5-inch (10–13-cm) pieces, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the tofu by slicing it into ¼-inch (6-mm) tiles, then cut the tiles into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices, then finally cut the slices into a fine dice.
- Place the diced tofu in a medium-sized bowl.
- Stir the tamarind concentrate into the diced tofu and let it stand for 15 minutes.
- Heat a medium-sized pan over high heat and swirl in the oil.
- When you see the first wisps of white smoke, add the garlic and shallot and sauté for about 1 minute, until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Fold in the tofu and stir-fry until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- If any liquid is released, either drain it from the pan or continue cooking to reduce it so it does not dilute the seasonings.
- Turn off the heat, then stir in the vegetarian fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chili powder and mix well.
- Adjust the flavors as necessary to your taste.
- Fold in the mint, red onion, roasted rice powder and scallions until well combined.
- Serve with carrot sticks, long beans, lettuce and cabbage.
- Pro Tip: Roasted rice powder is a fun condiment.
- It adds a quintessential nutty, smoky crunch to larb as well as other dishes.
- It also soaks up the dressing and binds it to the dish, upping the flavor.
- Look for it at an Asian market, or make it at home.
- This homemade version makes ½ cup (90 g).
- Place ½ cup (90 g) dry Thai sticky rice in a medium dry pan over medium-high heat.
- When the pan starts to heat up and you smell the rice toasting, stir or pan-flip the rice every 20 seconds.
- If the rice seems like it’s browning too fast, reduce the heat to low.
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the rice is golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the rice to cool.
- Transfer the cooled rice to a spice grinder and pulse until it’s sandy in texture.