010 / 75 · Breakfasts with Staying Power

Sesame Tofu Breakfast Scramble with Brown Rice

2 plates, each with half the tofu scramble and 3/4 cup rice · Active 20 min · Cook 12 min · Total 32 min

Print recipe · PDF

Tofu scramble works best when the tofu keeps a little structure and the vegetables have enough space to cook. Here, crumbled firm tofu picks up sesame, ginger and a small amount of turmeric, while red pepper and spinach bring color without turning the pan wet. Brown rice makes it a plated breakfast rather than a loose side dish. The recipe begins with cooked rice, which must have been cooled and stored safely if it was prepared ahead.

Jump to ingredients

Sesame tofu scramble with red pepper, spinach and brown rice.

Dry the tofu before crumbling

Firm tofu holds water in its structure and on its surface. Drain the package, wrap the block in a clean towel and press gently for ten minutes. This is enough to remove surface moisture without turning breakfast into a long project. Crumble into pieces about the size of a small grape; tiny crumbs can become dry before the larger ones are hot. Add the tofu to the pan only after the pepper has softened and the ginger has had a brief moment in the warm oil.

Keep the greens as a final step

Spinach wilts quickly. If it goes in at the beginning, its water steams the tofu and its leaves can lose their shape. Add it near the end, fold gently and cook just until it has collapsed. Soy sauce supplies the main seasoning, with toasted sesame oil added late so its aroma stays clear. The rice can be reheated while the scramble cooks. Fluff it after heating and check several spots with a thermometer, because a steaming edge does not guarantee a hot center.

Ingredients

  • 1 package firm tofu, drained (400 g edible tofu)
  • 2 teaspoons neutral oil (10 ml)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced (150 g prepared)
  • 2 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated (30 g)
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (10 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (1.5 g)
  • 2 packed cups baby spinach (60 g)
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce (15 ml)
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (5 ml)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (3 g)
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (300 g), freshly cooked and hot, or chilled within 1 hour of its original cooking and kept at 40°F/4°C for no more than 24 hours
  • 2 tablespoons water (30 ml), for reheating rice

Set out

Clean kitchen towel, 12-inch/30 cm skillet, Spatula, Covered microwave-safe bowl for rice, Food thermometer

Allergens

Soy, Sesame, Wheat in most soy sauces; check label. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Wrap drained tofu in a clean towel and press gently for 10 minutes. Crumble into roughly 1/2-inch/1.3 cm pieces.
  2. Heat neutral oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bell pepper and scallion whites for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add ginger and turmeric; stir for 30 seconds.
  3. Add tofu and cook for 5–6 minutes, turning gently, until hot and lightly golden in places. Fold in spinach and soy sauce; cook for 1–2 minutes until spinach has wilted and excess liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and stir in sesame oil.
  4. Meanwhile, put chilled cooked rice in the covered microwave-safe bowl with water, vent the lid and heat, stirring halfway, until it reaches 165°F/74°C throughout. If using fresh hot rice, omit the reheating step and stir the measured water into the hot rice before fluffing. Serve previously chilled rice immediately after this reheating; do not save it for a second reheat.
  5. Divide rice and scramble between two plates. Scatter sesame seeds and scallion greens evenly over both portions.

A breakfast that also works later

This plate does not rely on conventional breakfast flavors, so it can move to lunch or dinner when your schedule changes. Keep the rice amount and tofu amount explicit when packing. Additional sauce or vegetables can be served separately, but the recipe and its estimate refer to the measured base plate.

A useful detail

Use firm block tofu rather than silken tofu. Reduced-sodium soy sauce still contains salt, so no additional salt is included in the base recipe. Rice cooking is a separate earlier job and is not included. If preparing rice now, add its full packet cooking time before this method.

Another way

  • Replace spinach with 100 g finely shredded bok choy; cook the stems with the pepper and add leaves at the end.
  • Use 300 g cooked quinoa in place of brown rice, following the same safe cooling and reheating approach.

Keep it well

Keep scramble and rice separate. Refrigerate scramble in a shallow container within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days. Only rice freshly cooked for this meal may be saved: cool in a shallow container and refrigerate within 1 hour, use within 24 hours of its original cooking, and reheat once to 165°F/74°C. If chilled rice was reheated in step 4, eat it now and discard uneaten reheated rice rather than storing it for another reheating. Reheat scramble to 165°F/74°C; transport cold portions with two cold sources.