Tofu is amazingly versatile and varied and it is a great option for a meat free meal, as it is substantial and filling and it is a great source of protein. Tofu is made from soybeans and it comes in different textures as well as in pressed or fried versions. There are a lot of things to love in this BBQ Tofu bowl – the tofu is caramelized in the bbq sauce and served on rice with a super fresh and flavorful salsa made from mango, pepper, avocado, cucumber and lime. I would use the salsa on all kinds of dishes, and it was perfect on this one.
You can buy tofu in silken or soft, firm or extra firm varieties. For this recipe you want to use extra firm, because you will be browning it in a pan with the bbq sauce and tossing it around and you don’t want it to fall apart. You can use homemade or store bbq sauce for this. For the salsa, I love it as is, but if you don’t like peppers, or don’t like onion for example, you can leave out the thing you aren’t crazy about and it will still be great. Add plenty of lime juice because it brings it all together. I served this over rice with some grilled asparagus on the side.
BBQ Tofu Bowls with Mango Pepper Salsa
Ingredients
For the tofu:
- 2 packs extra firm tofu cut into bite sized cubes
- bbq sauce
- oil for pan frying
- salt and pepper
For the salsa:
- 2 mangoes diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 mini cucumbers diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 tbsp lime juice to taste
- salt and pepper
To serve:
- white rice
- extra bbq sauce if desired or hot sauce
Instructions
- Lay your cubes of tofu on a paper towel and press gently with more paper towels to absorb some of the liquid. This helps the tofu absorb the sauce. Gently toss cubes with enough bbq sauce to coat them all but not so much that you have a bunch of extra sauce. We are going to add more later. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Make the salsa by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Taste and adjust the salt and lime and let sit while you cook the tofu.
- Heat a few tbsp of oil in a non stick skillet over medium heat and add the tofu cubes. All them to sit and brown on one side, then toss the pan to stir them around and brown the other sides. Add some more bbq sauce drizzled over the top and toss to combine and to caramelize the bbq sauce. One all the pieces are covered and somewhat caramelized, turn off the heat.
- Place rice in bowls and top with the tofu and salsa. Serve with extra salsa/bbq sauce.