Main image of Black Bean Garlic Tofu Nourish Bowl

Black Bean Garlic Tofu Nourish Bowl

35 min

Meal
Hot or cold, this noodle bowl is delicious! The dressing is tangy and the black bean sauce is the perfect flavour combination for the veggies and crispy tofu.

Servings

Total

35 min

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Contains

Soy symbol

soy

Sesame symbol

sesame

Swap out

Gluten symbol

gluten

Free from

Peanut symbol

peanut

Treenut symbol

tree nut

Ingredients

Nourish bowl base

  • 9 oz (256 g)
    dry soba noodles
  • 1 tsp (5 mL)
    sesame oil
  • 1½ cups (210 g)
    frozen shelled edamame
  • 16 oz (450 g)
    firm tofu, pressed
  • 2 Tbsp (16 g)
    cornstarch
  • ½ tsp
    salt
  • ½ tsp
    ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp (15 mL)
    vegetable oil
  • 1
    head of bok choy
  • 5 cups (500 g)
    green beans
  • 2
    roasted red bell peppers from a jar
  • 3 Tbsp (45 mL)
    black bean garlic sauce, divided

Sauce

Optional garnish

  • red hot chili pepper
  • sliced green onion
  • toasted sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss with the sesame oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Set aside.
  2. Add the edamame beans to a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let it sit while the other ingredients are being prepared.
  3. Cut the tofu into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes. Transfer to a bowl, and toss with the cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
  4. Preheat a large pan on high heat with the vegetable oil. When hot, place the tofu in a single layer on the heated pan and fry until all sides are golden, about 10 - 15 minutes. Try to not disturb the tofu too much as it cooks to prevent it from crumbling.
  5. Thinly slice the bok choy leaves and stems into bite-sized pieces. Keep the green leaves and white stems separated for now. Trim the green beans and cut into thirds. Thinly slice the bell pepper.
  6. Once the tofu is completely cooked, add about one third of the black bean garlic sauce and toss to coat. Transfer to a bowl.
  7. Return the pan to the high heat and add the white bok choy stems and green beans, along with a very small splash (5 - 10 mL) of water. Cook until softened, but still crunchy, about 3 minutes.
  8. Add the bok choy leaves and the remaining black bean sauce, and sauté until the bok choy leaves are wilted. Transfer to a bowl.
  9. Drain the edamame.
  10. In a jar, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
  11. To assemble, place some of the cooled* soba noodles in a bowl and top with the tofu, green bean and bok choy vegetables, some drained edamame, and some sliced roasted red pepper. Drizzle the sauce over the bowl and garnish if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

  • * If you aren't a fan of cold soba noodles, simply reheat the noodles by pouring boiling water over them just before serving.

Storage

  • Store in a airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, storing the sauce separately from the remaining ingredients until ready to serve.
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Plate method

The Plate Method is a visual tool that helps us ensure our dietary needs are on track. Touch the image below to see how this recipe measures up.

Grains & Starches 46%

• dry soba noodles

Proteins 17%

• frozen shelled edamame

• firm tofu

Fruits & Veggies 37%

• head of bok choy

• green beans

• roasted red bell pepper from a jar

Calcium

• firm tofu

Fat

• sesame oil

• vegetable oil

• sesame oil

Nutrition info

We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.

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Discussion & Rating

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maham - Dec. 14, 2022, 7:47 a.m.

Hi PUL team , i tried this recipe and it turned out great but i was thinking of may be marinating the tofu in black bean sauce for like a couple hours to get more depth of flavor next time i make this recipe. Any thoughts on this? I am relatively new in using tofu so I am not sure if its even a reasonable idea
.

PUL Team - Dec. 14, 2022, 4:27 p.m.

Hey Maham, welcome to the world of tofu! Marinating tofu is optional, but it can give it a soggier texture since tofu acts like a sponge and absorbs liquids. Pressing tofu well is essential for flavour depth (there are lots of helpful videos online!) as this will get rid of its water content, allowing room for the tofu to soak up flavours during cooking. We hope this helps for now 😃

Reply
Ashley - Aug. 13, 2022, 12:54 a.m.

It was great. Whole family loved it.

Reply
Cierra - July 21, 2022, 10:13 p.m.

Hi! any other veggies I could use instead of bok choy? As I am not a fan of it, Thanks!

PUL Team - July 22, 2022, 7:54 a.m.

Hey there, Cierra, certainly! Carrots, zucchini, spinach, another coloured bell pepper, or an alternative leafy green vegetable are some ideas 😃

Reply
Milica - May 11, 2022, 10:21 a.m.

A staple.

Reply
Amrita - Nov. 13, 2021, 7:14 p.m.

This was absolutely delicious and surprisingly easy to make! One bit of feedback, though: when you scale down the number of servings, the quantities in the ingredients list scale down correspondingly, but the quantities mentioned in the directions don't scale down (for example, the black bean garlic sauce in this recipe). I'm not sure if this is a problem across all recipes, or just this one, but I would assume it is not too difficult to fix!

PUL Team - Nov. 13, 2021, 11:49 p.m.

Hey Amrita, you're awesome, thanks so much for catching this and bringing it to our attention! We've updated the wording so that now it works regardless of scaling 😊 so glad you enjoyed the recipe as well! 🤗

Reply
Purva - Sept. 21, 2021, 12:46 a.m.

Sadia, I love your recipes! I have tried plenty of them and this one is my absolute go to and favorite. Being vegetarian, sometimes I struggle finding variety in my protein sources and this one is really great way to boost the protein intake. :)

While we are on that topic, I had a nutrition related question which I wanted to ask - I have come across so many articles saying that frequent consumption of tofu may interfere with the hormones in women. Since you are a nutritionist yourself, I thought you will be the best resource to clear my doubt whether consuming tofu twice or thrice a week is bad or safe thing?

PUL Team - Sept. 21, 2021, 2:53 a.m.

Thank you for the kind words and review, Purva! That's a very common question as well. We'd recommend checking out our article on soy (pickuplimes.com/article/soy-28) for more information on the topic if you haven't already seen it and are interested 🙂

Reply
Meg - July 25, 2021, 4:44 p.m.

I really enjoyed this dish, but it wasn't my husband's fav (he's not a fan of the vinegar level I think). Any idea on how to make it a little less vinegary? Otherwise, I'll just keep making it for myself. ;)

PUL Team - July 26, 2021, 8:03 p.m.

Hey there, Meg! Thanks for taking the time to share. We'd recommend using less rice vinegar to reduce the vinegar taste. You could also add a little baking soda, sugar, or baking powder to offset the vinegar taste 🙂

Reply
Ananya R - July 24, 2021, 8:31 p.m.

I love this dish because the different components come together so well, but can also be swapped out with other veggies/sauces/plant proteins & still be delicious! If you don’t have black bean garlic sauce, I’ve made this with hoisin sauce or even soy sauce & garlic and it’s still AMAZING!

PUL Team - July 26, 2021, 7:56 p.m.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe, Ananya, we're so glad the nourish bowl was enjoyed 😃

Reply
Venelin Pendev - July 18, 2021, 1:50 p.m.

I’m going to try this recipe today. I only wonder whether the red bell peppers can be substituted as I am not a fan of them (although I’m willing to try the authentic recipe as it just looks delicious) I will definitely come back and say my opinion on the prepared meal but I’m sure it’ll be amazing

PUL Team - July 19, 2021, 7:10 a.m.

Hey there, Venelin! Feel free to substitute the red pepper for another vegetable that's enjoyed more or is more accessible. Let us know how it goes 😃

Venelin Pendev - July 21, 2021, 8:12 p.m.

Hi, I made it and it was extremely delicious. I think I used a bit too much vinegar so it turned a bit too sour for my taste but it was great. That’s the first recipe I do from your site and I’ll definitely try out more. Also, thanks for the Info. 😊

Reply
Céline - July 10, 2021, 10:58 p.m.

I like it! And I started using the black bean garlic sauce frequently for spontanous meals.

Reply
Brianne - July 9, 2021, 6:56 a.m.

In the video you say rice vinegar, but on the ingredient list it says rice wine vinegar. Is there a difference and does it matter which one I use? Thank you so much

PUL Team - July 13, 2021, 7:11 a.m.

Hey Brianne, thanks for pointing that out! It was a recipe input error on our end - rice vinegar is the correct one to use here 😊 I hope this helps for now, and thank you again! 🤗

Reply
Cris S - June 5, 2021, 4:03 p.m.

Another amazing nourish bowl! :D

Reply
Zee - June 4, 2021, 1:47 a.m.

I have been eyeing this recipe to make but can't get black bean garlic sauce in my grocery store. Can I substitute with anything or make this sauce at home from scratch?

PUL Team - June 5, 2021, 8:53 p.m.

A wonderful question Zee, and thank you for your patience as we're catching up on website comments! We'd suggest using hoisin sauce or trying another type of bean sauce, such as chilli black bean sauce. You may be able to find them in international grocery stores, the international aisle of larger grocery stores, or online! Alternatively, there appear to be several black bean garlic sauce recipes online which you could try. We hope this helps and happy cooking ✨😃

Zee - June 5, 2021, 9:42 p.m.

Thank you, hope to try one of the options out.

Reply
Diane - May 20, 2021, 8:09 p.m.

Delicious recipe! Loved how there is a good amount of plant protein from the tofu and edamame. Didn't have green beans but it was still delicious without. We took red bell pepper and roasted it on the pan, since we don't have the jarred stuff. The flavour of the sauce is delicious! Would make again.

PUL Team - May 22, 2021, 9:26 p.m.

Such wonderful substitutions, Diane! So glad you enjoyed the nourish bowl 😃

Reply