Cold Tofu and Chives with Soy-Ginger Sauce

Cold tofu with soy sauce is a staple. For me, it’s what I imagine cottage cheese and peaches, or yogurt and fruit, is for some other people, something that you can make real quick on the go as a snack, but in a savory rather than sweet sort of way. It also can be an appetizer or part of a spread of banchan and other side dishes to round out a meal of steamed pork belly or grilled meats or vegetables. Plus it’s a great blank slate for other toppings. Try it, say, with some chopped kimchi right on top. 

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

The Choi of Cooking Roy Choi

• 1 (14-ounce) package soft or silken tofu

• ½ cup Soy-Ginger Sauce (recipe follows)

• Minced fresh chives, for garnish

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

• Flaky sea salt

DIRECTIONS 

Drain the tofu, then pat it dry with a paper towel. Slice it crosswise into 1-inch-thick steaks. Shingle them on a plate. Gently ladle the sauce over the tofu, then shower with a shit-ton of minced chives. Add a few cracks of black pepper, the sesame seeds, and a pinch of flaky salt on top, and serve.

Soy-Ginger Sauce 

This sauce mimics the ones you get when you order dumplings or boiled beef at a Korean restaurant—but it’s not just a dipping sauce. This is also a flavor agent that can be deployed on cold tofu (page 114), added to cooked rice, or spooned into soups. You also can use it as a base to create a multiverse of other sauces by adding chiles and other herbs to it (see Korean Crying Tiger Sauce, page 246). This is something to always have on hand to make snack times and mealtimes that much easier, so make a batch and stash it in the fridge for everyday use. 

MAKES 2½ CUPS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup soy sauce

• 1 cup rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro stems

• 1 tablespoon chili oil

• Juice of ½ lime

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a medium pot, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds, chives, cilantro stems, chili oil, lime juice, 2 tablespoons water, and a pinch of salt and pepper and set over medium-low heat. Increase the heat to high and right when it starts to get goosebumps and bubbles pop all around, 6 to 8 minutes, immediately pull the pot off the heat. Let cool before using. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

“The Choi of Cooking” Copyright © 2025 by Roy Choi, Natasha Phan, and Tien Nguyen. Photographs copyright © 2025 by Bobby Fisher. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

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