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Home » Recipes

Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers!

Jun 24, 2021Last Modified: January 29, 2023

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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make delicious Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers!

Spicy Thai Tofu Burger
Jump to:
  • The Inspiration For This Tofu Burger
  • Spicy Thai Flavors!
  • The Method To Make Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers
  • Assemble and Get Ready To Enjoy An Absolutely Delicious Vegetarian Burger!
  • Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
  • Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers

The Inspiration For This Tofu Burger

Recently we selected the film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" for our Sunday movie night. This film is about a friendship that develops between Fred Rogers (of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) and a cynical and jaded journalist assigned to do a story on him. It's a lovely film, and highly recommended.

Fred Rogers was a beloved figure of the American public. I discovered that he was actually a Presbyterian minister, and a vegetarian. From HuffPost.com: "Rogers was one of the rare Christian ministers at this point who believed that treating animals nonviolently and embracing a vegetarian lifestyle are deeply spiritual practices that bear witness to God’s love for animals." He once told the editor of the Vegetarian Times magazine (which he co-owned) that he loved tofu burgers and beets!

On movie nights I'll cook a meal that has something to do with the film we are watching. So I made tofu burgers and beets to accompany this film!

Spicy Thai Flavors!

I love spicy food! Therefore I decided to spice up my tofu burger with irresistible Thai flavors! This means I used the following ingredients in this burger:

  • Sriracha sauce
  • Thai chilis
  • Shallot
  • Thai basil
  • Cilantro
Sriracha sauce, thai chilis, shallot, cilantro, thai basil on a wooden board

The dressing was made up of a Thai fish sauce flavored mayo, along with garlic, and more Thai chilis!

Mayo with Thai chilis, fish sauce and garlic in a small bowl, cilantro leaves, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions, on a wooden bowl
Thai flavored mayo dressing, with my chosen garnishes for the burger!

Let's make some Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers!

The Method To Make Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers

It's really quite simple to make these burgers! Here we go!

Drain the Tofu

You will need to use Extra Firm Tofu for these burgers. Then you will need to drain the tofu.

A box of morinaga extra firm tofu on a white plate

Draining the tofu is a big deal. You are aiming to get as much water out of the tofu as possible. Basically I placed a heavy object on top of a plate on top of the tofu, and let it sit for a couple of hours. This will help to draw the water out of the tofu.

Heavy white bowl on top of a small plate placed on top of tofu on a white plate

Every so often I would drain off the water, and then place the heavy bowl on top and apply some pressure. After a couple of hours your tofu should be ready to go!

Prep Tofu Burger Ingredients and Combine With The Tofu

Prep the tofu burger ingredients (shallot, Thai chilis, Thai basil, and cilantro) by mincing them finely. This is easily done using a food processor.

Minced Thai chilis, shallot, Thai basil, and cilantro in a food processor

Next combine this beautiful mince with crumbled up tofu and add Sriracha sauce to taste, followed by a bit of salt and flour.

Crumbled up tofu, minced Thai chilis, Thai basil, cilantro and shallot in a white bowl with sriracha sauce

Then combine everything by hand, and assemble into 2 tofu burgers.

Spicy Thai tofu burger on a wooden board

Now Bake And Then Fry!

It seems that baking tofu burgers helps to firm them up a bit! So, I baked these at 350F for around 30 minutes.

Spicy Thai Tofu Burger on parchment paper

The last step is to pan fry them! This gives them a nice lovely browned color. 😍

Tofu burgers frying on a cast iron pan

Assemble and Get Ready To Enjoy An Absolutely Delicious Vegetarian Burger!

These amazing burgers are best served on some toasted burger buns! I chose sliced tomatoes, cilantro, and sliced onions as garnishes for our burgers. But use what you like! Slices of cool cucumber would also work fabulously!

Spicy Thai Tofu Burger

Be sure to slather on lots of the Thai infused mayo dressing! One bite, and you will be head over heels in love with this burger. 😊 They are spicy, savory, and the aniseed taste of the Thai basil helps push this over the edge of delectable fare! I daresay even non vegetarians might enjoy it as well!

Thank you Fred Rogers for inspiring this meal! I hope you will enjoy some of these awesome tofu burgers soon!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Spicy Koshari

Koshari

Indian Spiced Green Lentils

Indian Spiced Lentils With Onion Salad and rice in a bowl

If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 😊

Cheers!

Grace

Spicy Thai Tofu Burger

Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers

Grace
These Spicy Thai Tofu Burgers will even please non-vegetarians! Spicy, and full of wonderful Thai flavors, these burgers are easy to make and irresistible!!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 34 mins
Draining the tofu 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 49 mins
Course burgers, dinner, Main Course, Sandwich
Cuisine Thai
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • Non stick or cast iron pan

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz extra firm tofu
  • 2 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
  • 1 small handful cilantro leaves minced
  • few leaves Thai basil I used just a few of these leaves, use more or less to your liking! minced
  • 6 Thai chilis minced
  • 1 small shallot minced
  • ½ ts salt minced
  • 5 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil

Thai Infused Mayo Dressing

  • ½ cup mayo
  • 3 Thai chilis minced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • ½-1 tablespoon fish sauce adjust the amount to your tastes

Burger Buns

  • 2 good sized burger buns
  • spreadable butter for toasting

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350F.

Tofu Burgers

  • Remove the tofu and drain as much water from it as you can. Place a heavy object on top of the tofu (tofu should on a surface that can contain the drained water so it doesn't go everywhere). Gently apply pressure from time to time and drain any water you get from this each time. I left it for around a couple of hours..it may take you less time.
    Heavy white bowl on top of a small plate placed on top of tofu on a white plate
  • Place the shallot, Thai chilies (I used 6...you can reduce or add the amount to your liking), Thai basil, and cilantro in a food processor and mince finely.
    Minced Thai chilis, shallot, Thai basil, and cilantro in a food processor
  • Once the tofu has been drained of as much water as possible, then crumble the tofu in a large mixing bowl. You may also want to see if you can squeeze some more water out during this process. Then add the minced herbs, chilis, and shallot to the tofu mixture, along with Sriracha sauce, salt, and flour.
    Minced herbs, shallot, and chilies, flour, sriracha sauce, and tofu in a mixing bowl
  • Gently combine with your hands, and then shape into 2 even sized burgers. Press together as firmly as you can so that they don't fall apart.
    Spicy Thai tofu burger on a wooden board
  • Place these burgers in your preheated oven (350F) and allow to bake for around 30 minutes. Remove.
    Spicy Thai Tofu Burger on parchment paper

Toasted Burger Buns

  • While the burgers are baking, get your toasted buns ready! Spread some of the spreadable butter on each side of the burger buns. Heat up a nonstick or cast iron pan on medium heat. Once hot toast each side, pressing down a bit until you get each side nice and toasty! Set aside.
    Toasted Burger Buns

Prepare Garnishes and Thai Infused Mayo Dressing

  • Slice some onions and tomatoes, and have a few cilantro leaves ready. Combine the ingredients for the Thai Infused Mayo Dressing together. Set aside.
    Mayo with Thai chilis, fish sauce and garlic in a small bowl, cilantro leaves, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions, on a wooden bowl

Pan Fry The Baked Tofu Burgers

  • Heat up olive oil in a cast iron or nonstick pan on med to med-high heat. Once hot, then pay fry the baked tofu burgers on each side for around 2 minutes to get a nice golden brown color.
    Tofu burgers frying on a cast iron pan

Assemble!!

  • Assemble your burger by spreading the Thai infused mayo on the inside of each burger bun, then place cilantro on the bottom bun and top with the tofu burger and your garnishes. Add more mayo if you like!!
    Spicy Thai Tofu Burger

Notes

You will want to feast on these delicious burgers time and time again!  Great served with a side salad, or some sliced beets, another of Fred Rogers' favorite foods!
Keyword burgers, spicy, Vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Summer M

    January 29, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    Oh my goodness! I made this burger today and I used soy sauce vs using the fish sauce. I cannot express the flavorful mouth watering this burger is boasting with! I will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you for this mouthful of wonderful spices of yum, yum in the tum tum recipe! 💕

    Reply
    • Grace

      January 30, 2023 at 4:06 pm

      I'm so honored that you tried this recipe Summer! Thank you so very much for your very kind comments and I'm so so delighted that you liked this tofu burger so much! I will have to try this with soy sauce as a sub next time I make it! Thank you friend! Grace

      Reply

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About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

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