Vietnamese Stuffed Tofu in Tomato Sauce (Đậu Hủ Nhồi Thịt)

There’s no need to scoop out the inside; just create a slit and stuff the tofu. Then, in the same pan, make your sauce with fresh, ripe tomatoes. The tofu will soak up all the flavor like a sponge.

It’s savory, it’s sweet, and it’s perfect to spoon over steamed rice for a hearty and easy meal.

What You Will Need

• Fried tofu: You can typically find fried tofu at your local Asian markets. If you can’t find them, get regular firm tofu and fry them yourself until golden.
• Ground meat: Ground pork is traditionally used, but you can use ground beef like I am here. You can also use ground chicken or turkey.
• Wood ear mushrooms / black fungus: In Vietnamese, this is known as nấm mèo. It’s the most commonly used mushroom in Vietnamese cuisine, adding texture and crunch to the filling. You can use either dried or fresh. I prefer dried because it’s pantry-stable. You can also omit it if you don’t have any.
• Aromatics: Minced shallots, garlic, and green onions.
• Seasonings: Oyster sauce, fish sauce, ketchup (for color and sweetness), and black pepper.
• Fresh ripe tomatoes: Don’t break the bank with this dish. No expensive heirlooms here. Get the cheapest tomatoes, like Roma tomatoes. All you need is for them to be ripe. These break down beautifully into a sauce. You can also use canned crushed tomatoes if you don’t have fresh ones on hand.

How to Make Vietnamese Stuffed Tofu

Step 1: Prep the ingredients

If using dried wood ear mushrooms, soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes until softened (use hot water to speed this up). Drain, discard the tough middle, and finely chop.

Finely dice the tomatoes. Thinly slice the green onions, with the whites and greens separated. Cut the fried tofu into triangles. Use the front edge of the knife to cut slits into the tofu to create pockets.

Peel and finely dice the shallot and garlic. Set all prepared ingredients aside.

Step 2: Make the filling

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped wood ear mushrooms, half of the shallot, half of the garlic, whites of the green onion, oyster sauce and half of ground black pepper. Mix until everything is combined.

Step 3: Stuff the tofu

Spoon the pork filling into each tofu pocket. Don’t be afraid to overstuff them. The meat mixture shrinks as it cooks, and packing them generously prevents the filling from slipping out.

Step 4: Pan-fry the stuffed tofu

Heat cooking oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the stuffed tofu to the pan, meat-side down first. This sears and seals the filling so it won’t fall out. Fry the remaining sides to bring that back to life with that delicious, fried flavor.

(Note: You can actually stop right here and enjoy the stuffed fried tofu as-is).

Step 5: Make tomato sauce

In the same pan, push the tofu to the edges of you have to clear the middle. In the middle, you can add a tad more oil if there’s not enough then sauté the remaining shallots and garlic until fragrant.

Step 6: Finish

Once the tomatoes have cooked down into a sauce, gently toss the stuffed tofu to coat evenly.

Garnish with the green part of green onions and the remaining ground black pepper. Serve with steamed rice for a complete meal.

Pro Tips

• Don’t like tofu? No problem. Use cored-out bell peppers, large tomatoes, or whatever sturdy vegetables you have on hand, like squash.
• Stuffing too complicated? Try this much easier recipe without the stuffing.

Storage & Reheating

Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready for round two, you can easily reheat them in the microwave, or gently warm them on the stovetop while gently mixing until heated through.

More Tofu Recipes

If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like these other popular tofu dishes:

• Crispy salt and pepper tofu
• Simple tofu and eggs with soy dipping sauce
• Tofu and garlic chive soup
• Spicy Korean squid and tofu stir fry