Sweet and Sour Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes

I’m old enough to remember when “tofu” used to be a dirty word; like in an eighties movie where the bad guy in a bandana says about the hero, “He probably eats tofu.”

Now, in the 2020s, I think of tofu as a miracle ingredient: a chance to get some protein into your dinner without having to worry about humanely-raised meat or environmentally-consciously-caught fish. You just buy a package of extra-firm tofu, wrap it in kitchen towels or paper towels, and weigh it down with a cast iron skillet while you get on with your business.

All Hail Melissa Clark!

This recipe comes to us from Melissa Clark’s cookbook, Dinner: Changing the Game, which is a bottomless resource for what to put on the table on any given weeknight. It might be the cookbook I turn to the most when it’s five o’clock and I don’t have a dinner plan. What I love about Melissa is her casual seasonal cooking — she’s not finger-waggy, the way some seasonal chefs are — she just encourages you to cook with what’s growing at a particular time. And early September is still an amazing time (maybe the best time) for sweet corn and cherry tomatoes.

Like all Melissa Clark recipe, the steps just make sense. Step one: make a potent elixir (you’ll add this at the end) with garlic, chilies, ginger, lime juice, sesame oil, fish sauce, and honey. Step two: cube your well-drained tofu and sear it in a pan of hot oil until golden brown all over.

It’s actually a really fun step to get the tofu as brown as you can on as many sides as you can without setting off the smoke detector. Then you remove it to a plate and add fresh corn and cherry tomatoes (and scallions, if you have them; I didn’t) to the pan and cook for just a few minutes until softened.

The Final Steps

Finally, you add that potent elixir, simmer for a minute, then add all the tofu back so the flavors can meld. Plus some cilantro.

The results are pretty spectacular considering the few, fairly simple steps. It’s giving General Tso’s Chicken without the chicken by way of Ina Garten’s favorite farm stand in the Hamptons. To serve, just spoon everything over rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

So the next time you’re looking for some protein and don’t feel like killing an animal or destroying the ocean, give this tofu dish a whirl. It’s so good, even an eighties bully would like it.