Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu
The Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu is a great start for the Veganuary. Lots of colourful crunchy veggies in a flavourful fruity-hot Asian sauce topped with crispy air fried cauliflower and tofu. Meal prep a large batch and you are all set for your work week with a seriously delicious and nutritious meal.
This post may contain referral links for products I love. For The Pleasure Of Eating earns a small commission on these links at no cost to you, and the links will always be marked with an asterisk*.
Why You Will Love This
All the Nutrition in One Bowl
I’m often aiming to get all my veggies for the day in my main meal and this Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu is no exception. If you use the same vegetables as I do, you get a phenomenal 7 portions of veg, protein from the tofu and healthy carbs from the rice.
Versatile
Of course you could swap the vegetables out for any you might enjoy. Courgettes, broccoli, asparagus, sugar snaps or kale would all fit nicely into this dish.
Protein wise, if you are not a fan of tofu, you could use any meat you enjoy or even some fish. Though do try this way of preparing tofu. It’s super flavourful from the marinade, which doubles as sauce and crispy with tempura batter!
The Sauce
The Sauce is made with a delicious mix of Asian and Middle Eastern flavours, which may sound odd, but work wonderfully. It is both used to marinade the tofu and coat the vegetables, quick pickling the red cabbage in the process, making for a seriously flavourful bowl that you’ll want to keep eating.
The Ingredients
Vegetables
- Cauliflower – I found a rather pretty orange cauliflower at my local Tesco and just couldn’t resist. You could just steam or roast it as is, after cutting into small florets, but I opted for coating it in crispy tempura batter and air frying it. If you are using a whole head, you can either fry it in batches or simply put it in the oven. I tried both and found the air fried pieces to be a bit crisper, so that would be my favourite method.
- For the remaining veggies, you could use anything in your veg drawer. I had spinach, carrots, mushrooms, red cabbage, mini sweetcorn, and a bag of soy sprouts for a nice Asian inspired mix.
- To top the bowl with bright green accents and more flavour, I used a bunch of spring onions and cilantro.
- Protein – I’m using tofu here, which gets marinated in part of the sauce, then dipped into tempura batter, same as the cauliflower, and air fried/oven roasted. The sauce imparts lots of flavour here, so no need to worry about bland tofu.
The Sauce
A mix of low sodium soy sauce, orange juice, balsamic and rice vinegar, honey, pomegranate molasses, gochujang paste (or any chili sauce of your choice), nutty sesame oil, garlic and ginger make this a very more-ish dressing that you’ll want to drizzle on anything from salads to stir fry.
The pomegranate molasses has a distinct fruity sweet and sour taste. Most healthfood shops have it these days. If you can’t find it, use a little more balsamic vinegar and a bit more honey.
The Tempura Batter
While you could roast both cauliflower and tofu just covered with the sauce and they will be delicious, the batter adds that extra crispy shell and makes this bowl irresistible. You only need flour (gluten free works too), cornstarch, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, pepper and ice cold sparkling water.
Carbohydrates – I had rice as carb with this bowl, but you could use noodles or any other grain you enjoy. Frekkeh would be particularly good here due to its nutty flavour.
The Process
Pressing the tofu
Start by pressing the tofu, so it’s easier to fry to that perfect chewie texture and can soak up the marinade. If you don’t have a tofu press* as mine in the picture, you could wrap it in a clean kitchen towel, then top with something heavy, like a cast iron skillet, to push out the moisture. Be careful though, I had a heavy cast iron pot slide off it once and drop to the floor, leaving a chip in my tiles. Hence my tofu press. I figured it’s less expensive than having to get tiles re-done or buy a new cast iron pot. About 30 minutes should be enough, but you can leave it for longer if you have time.
Once it has given up a good bit of moisture, cut it into bite sized cubes.
Vegetable Preparation
While the tofu is left to its devices, prepare the veggies. Cut the cauliflower into florets, half or quarter the mushrooms, depending on size, julienne or slice the carrots, shred the cabbage thinly, slice the mini sweetcorn in half lengthwise and wash and roughly chop your spinach. Slice the spring onions and roughly chop the cilantro if using.
The Sauce
Peel your ginger. This is easiest done by scraping the skin off with a teaspoon. Sounds weird, I know. But give it a try. I promise you won’t look back.
Peel and mince your garlic.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a jar and shake well.
Marinate
Use ¼ of the sauce to marinate your tofu cubes. Keep in the fridge for at least 30minutes, so they can soak up all the delicious flavour.
In a large bowl*, coat the shredded cabbage with about 3-4 tbsp of the sauce and mix well. Let it marinate until ready to serve.
Line either your air fryer* basket with some baking parchment (after pre-heating, as the empty air fryer will pull the paper up and might cause burning) or 2 sheet pans*. If using the air fryer, you might have to fry in batches, but the results will be a decidedly crispier.
The Tempura Batter
To mix the batter add all dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the water, whisking as you go, until you have a smooth batter that will coat tofu and cauliflower. Add the water slowly, you might not need it all.
Bake
Pre-heat your air fryer* or oven to 400°F/200°C.
Dredge your tofu and cauliflower pieces through the batter, shaking each lightly, to let excess batter drip off. Distribute between the trays or add to your hot air fryer basket. Spray lightly with some oil or cooking spray. Air fry for about 17-20min until golden brown and crispy, flipping the pieces halfway through.
In the oven, they will need about 30-35 minutes.
Cook rice, fry vegetables
Cook your rice according to packet instructions and drain when done.
Meanwhile, heat 2 frying pans*. Coat both with some oil or cooking spray. Add the mushrooms to one pan and fry until nicely browned, stirring only occasionally, to not disturb the browning process.
In the second pan, stir fry the mini sweetcorn, followed by the julienned carrots, then soy sprouts and lastly the spinach until wilted. Add the remaining sauce to the pan and let it bubble up briefly, to take the raw edge off the garlic and ginger.
Serve
Start by adding rice to your bowl, then top with the remaining ingredients, finishing with the crispy cauliflower and tofu. Drizzle some sauce over. Sprinkle with some spring onions, cilantro and sesame if you like. Enjoy your colourful and healthy Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu.
Meal Prep
I made the ingredients for the Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu on my weekend and stored them in separate lidded containers*, to keep them fresh. While I fried each vegetable on its own to show them in the bowl, it makes more sense from a flavour perspective to stir fry them all in one pan and also store them that way. No need to go through all the trouble I did. Though if you want to keep them separate, you can just microwave them with the rice later, to heat them.
For the tempura battered tofu and cauliflower, I lined a large container with kitchen towels, and stored them in layers, to stop them from sticking. I then re-heated them in portions in the air fryer for a few minutes, to crisp them up.
The ingredients keep stored as above for about 4 days in the fridge. I wouldn’t necessarily advise to freeze them, especially the tofu and cauliflower, as they will go soggy.
Looking for more ideas for Veganuary? Here are some of my favourites:
Broccoli and Cauliflower on Whipped Tofu with Smoked Chili Dressing
Vegan Tom Kha Soup
Sumac Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Black Garlic Mushroom Sauce
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu
Equipment
- 1 tofu press optional
- 1 Air Fryer or
- 1 oven
Ingredients
- 1 pack tofu
- 1 head of cauliflower
- ¼ red cabbage
- 1 pack mini sweetcorn
- 3 carrots
- 1 pack mushrooms
- 1 pack bean sprouts
- 1 bag spinach
- 1 cup rice
- 1 bunch Spring onions – sliced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro chopped, optional
- sesame seeds for serving, optional
Sauce
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil
- 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cups honey
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses or pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp gochujang paste
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
Tempura Batter
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend or brown rice flour
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 cups sparkling water extra cold
Instructions
Pressing the Tofu:
- Press the tofu for about 30 minutes to remove excess moisture, then cut it into bite-sized cubes.
Vegetable Preparation:
- Cut cauliflower into florets, mushrooms into halves or quarters, carrots into julienne strips, shred the cabbage thinly, slice mini sweetcorn in half lengthwise, and wash and roughly chop the spinach.
- Slice spring onions and chop cilantro if using.
The Sauce:
- Peel and mince the garlic, and peel and grate the ginger.
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a jar and shake well.
Marinate:
- Use ¼ of the sauce to marinate tofu cubes. Keep in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, coat shredded cabbage with 3-4 tbsp of the sauce and let it marinate.
The Tempura Batter:
- Mix all dry tempura batter ingredients in a bowl. Slowly add sparkling water, whisking until a smooth batter forms.
Bake:
- Preheat air fryer or oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Dredge tofu and cauliflower through the batter, shaking off excess. Air fry for 17-20 minutes or bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and crispy, flipping halfway.
Cook Rice, Fry Vegetables:
- Cook rice according to package instructions.
- In separate pans, fry mushrooms until browned in one pan. Stir-fry mini sweetcorn, carrots, bean sprouts, and spinach in the second pan. Add remaining sauce to the stir fry and let it bubble briefly.
Serve:
- In a bowl, layer rice, vegetables, and crispy tofu and cauliflower. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with spring onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds if desired.
Meal Prep:
- Prepare ingredients and store separately for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave and crisp up tempura battered pieces in the air fryer.
- Enjoy your colourful and healthy Asian Bowl with Cauliflower and Tofu!
As you mentioned this is indeed all nutrition in one bowl. This tasted mindblowing.
Thank you. 🙂
This dish was such a vibrant mix of textures and colors. It made for a nutritious and satisfying meal prep for the week.
Thank you. 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! Although I think anything with gochujag is yum:)
Gochujang makes everything better! I even found a cookie recipe with it that I’m planning to try.
Healthy, packed with flavor and delicious! We loved this Asian bowl!
Thank you. 🙂
I made this Asian bowl with cauliflower and tofu, and it’s packed with flavor! The cauliflower crisps up perfectly, and the tofu adds just the right amount of protein. It’s such a satisfying, healthy meal!
Thank you, so happy you enjoyed it!