Vietnamese tomato tofu

Recipe updated in June 2025 for clarity (and flavour).

This recipe for Vietnamese tomato tofu, or fried tofu cooked in a savoury tomato based sauce, is both easy and frugal to prepare. I first tried this in 2003, on my first trip to Vietnam, during which I ordered it every day.

Vietnamese tomato tofu typically utilises fish sauce as a seasoning (I didn't realise this back in 2003, when I naively assumed dishes with tofu must be inherently vegetarian), but in this version we swap it out for soy sauce. I use Healthy Boy thin soy sauce, a Thai product. You could also use vegan fish sauce, but be sure it's one that contains no sugar and no vinegar. You may also wish to omit the pinch of salt if you find a decent vegan fish sauce.

I've enjoyed this dish made with both firm and soft tofus, but we'll use the former here because it's more user friendly.

Print Recipe

Vietnamese tomato tofu (Đậu Sốt Cà Chua)

There's an optional additional suggested first step to boil your tofu. This is not required but it will improve the texture of the tofu. Serve it alongside jasmine rice for a filling meal.

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil for frying
• 300 grams firm tofu cut into 3-4cm cubes or rectangles
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 200 grams tomatoes roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ¾ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon mushroom seasoning powder I use Lee Kum Kee brand
• pinch salt
• spring onion
• coriander

Instructions

• Optional but recommended (it will aid in crispier tofu): bring one litre of water with 20 grams of salt to the boil. Add the tofu and simmer for ten minutes. Drain and lay the tofu on a tea towel or kitchen roll to air dry.
• Heat a wok with a few inches of oil to medium heat and deep fry the tofu until lightly browned and crispy, around 5-10 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up excess oil.

  If you're not comfortable deep frying, you can also pan fry the tofu.
• Tip all but around 2 teaspoons of oil out of the wok into a heatproof dish (once the oil is cool, store it in a lidded container to reuse another time). Return the wok to medium heat and add the garlic and shallots, stir frying for just under a minute until fragrant but not burned (some browning bits are fine).
• Add the tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, mushroom seasoning powder, and salt and simmer for a couple of minutes until the tomatoes break down. Add the water and continue to simmer for about 7-8 minutes. The sauce should be thick but still fluid.
• Add the fried tofu to the wok and stir it with the tomatoes, or plate the tofu up and plop the sauce over the cubes. Sprinkle with coriander and spring onion to serve.