Black Pepper Tofu with Black Garlic Sauce
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A few weeks ago my brother bought me two heads of black garlic. It’s not something I can get where I live and it’s something I’ve been wanting to try. It’s sweeter then traditional garlic and the first thing I thought of when I received it was tofu.
I knew I couldn’t make a regular Asian dish because it just wouldn’t fit with the black garlic so I went searching for something with tofu and noodles.
I found a recipe for black pepper tofu in a black garlic sauce and started tweaking it immediately. I thought it would be great for this weeks Sunday Supper theme of A Lighter New Year and it would taste great.
I took the original recipe and added some broccoli, rice noodles, and went with the black garlic sauce. The sauce is made from an entire head of black garlic. There’s no need to chop it because the black garlic turns into a paste on its own.
The tofu is tossed in black pepper sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. It’s a very simple tofu dish which is why it works so well with the black garlic sauce. Everything is then tossed with broccoli and noodles. The acidity from the rice vinegar matches up nicely with the black garlic and it all comes together with the noodles. I absolutely loved this dish and can’t wait to make it again the next time I get black garlic.
Black Pepper Tofu with Black Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
For the Tofu:
- 1 block extra-firm tofu
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 2 T. rice vinegar
- 1/2 c. black pepper sauce
- 1 t. sesame oil
For the Black Garlic Sauce:
- 1 head of black garlic
- 1 t. ginger minced
- 3/4 c. vegetable stock
- 1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
- 3 T. rice vinegar
- 1 t. sesame oil
To finish the dish:
- 8 oz. rice noodles cooked
- 2 heads broccoli cut into florets and steamed
Instructions
- Press the tofu to remove the excess moisture. Cut into 5 slices and then cut each slice into 4 pieces.
- In a medium bowl combine the oil, vinegar, black pepper sauce, and sesame oil. Add the tofu and toss until completely coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1-3 hours.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and fry for 6-8 minutes on each side or until crispy.
- Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour into a food processor and process until smooth.
- Add half of the sauce, the cooked rice noodles, and the broccoli to the tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with additional black garlic sauce.
Notes
I have never tried black garlic but I want to! I didn’t know it turned into a pasta! Can’t wait to try this!
Mind reader – I also have black garlic sitting in my pantry and don’t know what to do with that. Loving this recipe so much and now i know what to make with it. Yum!
This looks amazing! Love it!
It’s like you’re reading my taste buds, lady! I am such a huge fan of black pepper tofu and garlic sauce. Sign me up for this one–I’m totally saving it for the books! Cheers, and happy 2015 🙂
I make a version of this all the time, using black soybean tofu for extra “black” :-).
It’s an easy recipe to make and a great starter tofu recipe for you to try!
Oh this is my kind of food right here. I love Asian flavors — this is a great dish!
I need a plate of this in my life!!!
I just happen to have a a few heads of black garlic. Definitely making this for dinner on Thursday. Can’t wait!
I hope you enjoy it!
I have never had tofu, outside of a bowl of miso soup, but you make it look and sound really flippin’ tasty!!!
And now I need to find some black garlic and try it too. Sounds wonderful.
Love the combination of flavors here! Send some my way please. 🙂 BTW, I’m going to pin this to a vegan recipe board I started recently…looks like it qualifies unless I’m missing something.
It is vegan! Thanks for pinning it!
Oh this just looks too good not to try. Love the black pepper sauce, but haven’t tried black garlic yet (it’s on my list though). I love tofu for it’s versatility and can’t wait to try this dish!
Thanks! Black garlic is awesome. A little bit sweeter then traditional garlic and so flavorful.
I’m finally learning to love tofu on its own, especially when cooked in a flavorful sauce. This looks absolutely delicious, Heather!
Oh goodness, this actually looks SO good to me. I’ve never had black garlic and would love to try it. And seriously, nobody would even know that was Tofu looking at it. It looks SO good!