Have you ever tried black tofu? No, not blackened tofu. Not tofu with black bean sauce. Black tofu. Made from black soybeans. Though the color of the tofu is more of a greyish hue. It’s high in fiber and protein but relativity low in carbohydrates and may help reduce the risk of diabetes.
I tried a pan-fried sample at the Asian supermarket. Yes, they have food samples just like at Costco but only on the weekends and sometimes the sample person doesn’t speak English. I bought a package of the stuff home.
Instead of pan-frying though, I roasted the tofu. But I’m not convinced that’s the best preparation for black tofu. The pan-fried version seemed creamier; the roasted seemed drier.
The orange part comes from an adaptation of the Ginger Orange Stir-Fry recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Eating Appalachia. As soon as I saw Cara Cara orange in the ingredients, knew I was going to try it. It makes a beautiful vivid orange color. And it’s spicy. And it’s sweet without any additional sweetener.
I’ve made it several times now using regular white tofu and with various vegetables. I’ve even made it without vegetables, I like the sauce so much. I’ve also tried run-of-the-mill Navel oranges, it’s good but nowhere nearly as good as a sweet Cara Cara.
Below is the adapted recipe using roasted tofu. To pan-fry the tofu, click here for the original recipe.
Roasted Tofu in Orange-Ginger Sauce
Serves 2
1 14-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 small carrot, sliced on the diagonal
2-3 cups snow peas or other vegetable such as broccoli
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Corn starch mixed with a bit of water
Sauce
Zest of 1 Cara Cara orange
1 Cara Cara orange, juiced
3/4 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or to taste
To roast the tofu, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on one side, flip over and roast another 15 minutes.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the carrots and stir-fry a bit and then add the snow peas (if using broccoli, parboil it first). When the snow peas are crisp-tender, toss in the roasted tofu. Add the sauce and cook for about a minute. To thicken the sauce, dribble in the corn starch mixture and stir until it’s the desired thickness. Plate and serve with rice.
LittleMonsterx14 says
i have never tried black tofu, it looks interesting, i’d love to try it! this looks delicious!
Hannah says
Now I’m very curious… Clearly this is not Nasoya! I’ve used their black tofu many times (and loved it, mind you) but it’s never been black like this. It’s more like a speckled grey, whereas yours really looks like charcoal through and through. I’d sure love to compare!
india leigh says
I’ve never heard of black tofu until now, or Cara Cara oranges. I am going to go on a scout out for both. I am in SF right now, can I buy them there?
x
chow says
LittleMonsterx14 – Thanks!
Hannah – I’ve seen the Nasoya black tofu at the store but I haven’t tried it. Now that you mentioned the color difference, I’m curious about it too.
india leigh – Yes, I got the black tofu from the Asian supermarket, Ranch 99. The Cara Cara I got at Whole Foods and at my local farmer’s market. You might be able to get both at the Ferry Building farmer’s market, I think Hodo Soy Beanery makes a black tofu.
Andrea says
I don’t think I’ve seen black tofu in any of the Asian stores I visit. I’ll pay closer attention in case I missed it, but California seems to have more varieties of everything than anywhere else!
The orange sauce sounds great. Have you tried dry-frying tofu like The Urban Vegan does? I tried it with a cast iron griddle and the result was a lot like fried tofu, but without the fat. It might work well for the black tofu.
Jes says
Black tofu? How funky! I’m going to have to search that out the next time I’m in a city with a Super H Mart or some other Asian supermarket.
And, yes, that orange sauce is ridiculously good–glad you liked it!
mattheworbit says
Black tofu?! I knew there were black soybeans, but I’ve never tried them – I know I’m going to get to taste this. They definitely look a little too firm for baking.
Thanks for the orange sauce recipe, too – I can’t resist.