Vietnamese-Inspired Cabbage Salad With Tofu
Updated August 29, 2025
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lime
½ jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons peanut oil
½ pound extra-firm tofu, cut into slabs, ¾ inch thick
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, grated
⅓ cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts, plus more to serve
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more to serve
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
16 grams carbs; 290 calories; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1093 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
To make vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce, lime zest and juice, jalapeño and garlic. Whisk in 3 tablespoons peanut oil.
- Step 2
Pat the tofu dry with paper towels. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick. When it shimmers, add the tofu. Cook 3 minutes without moving, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce and ½ teaspoon fish sauce. Move the tofu to a cutting board, and brush both sides of each slice generously with this mixture. Cut tofu into bite-size pieces.
- Step 3
In a large bowl, toss together tofu, cabbage, carrot, peanuts, cilantro and vinaigrette. Garnish with more peanuts and cilantro.
Private Notes
Comments
Nice and crunchy. For the amount of cabbage, I would suggest adding the full 1 lb. pkg of tofu. It will be well incorporated. Just double the sauce for the tofu.
I added a used sesame oil instead of peanut oil because it's what I had on hand. Also added a little bit of peanut butter and sambal oelek and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Delicious!
Delicious! I've made this twice and served this over softened pad thai noodles. A big hit in my house with kids and grown-ups alike.
Delicious served on top of white quinoa.
This was a great recipe that is a nice vegan meal if you just eliminate the fish sauce. You can use more soy sauce and/or rice wine vinegar.
I heavily tweaked this recipe: substituted grilled shrimp for tofu; added 1 T chopped fresh ginger and an additional clove of garlic to the vinaigrette; added thinly sliced radishes, Thai basil, and thinly sliced, chopped red onion to the salad. Fabulous! Could eat it every day.