Swimming Rama Bowl with Tofu (Pra Ram Tofu)

This Swimming Rama tofu bowl is an everything-in-a-bowl meal that you can put together in less than 15 minutes. This mouth-watering dish uses a mixture of textures, with fresh greens and crunchy vegetables, soft savory noodles, and crispy baked tofu, topped with a peanut sauce that adds a sweet and savory flavor burst to every bite.

Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian, or simply looking for a meat-free meal that your whole family will love, this dish is sure to satisfy. So read on for all the tips and tricks or hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make a Swimming Rama tofu bowl!

Ingredients

• Peanut sauce
• Crispy baked tofu – make your own or buy your favorite ready-to-eat tofu.
• Udon noodles – Udon are Japanese wheat noodles with a chewy texture. You can sub Thai rice noodles, but be careful not to overcook them.
• Sliced red peppers and radishes.
• Raw spinach
• Garnished and finished with any combo of cilantro, toasted peanuts, and lime juice.

If you’re just here for the peanut butter, check out the peanut butter Rice Krispie treats or these peanut butter waffles. Or search the archives for treats with both peanut butter and chocolate like these double peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!

Variations and substitutions

• Sub another protein, like cooked chicken, for the tofu.
• Use different greens like chard or kale, or lightly cook the spinach to soften it.
• Add broccoli or snow peas or green beans.
• Serve over rice instead of noodles.

Recipe tips and tricks

About Swimming Rama (Pra Ram)

Swimming Rama is a Thai dish made with spinach, peanut sauce, and often with chicken or another protein. This Swimming Rama tofu bowl goes meat-free with tofu and subs noodles for the rice commonly served with Pra Ram.

Making the Swimming Rama tofu bowl

The general principle of creating your own bowl recipes is to pick your favorite grain, rice, or noodle. Choose a protein, add vegetables, and top with some garnishes and a sauce or vinaigrette. The goal is to select a variety of colors, flavors, and textures.

You can buy pre-baked tofu or make your own crispy baked tofu. Making it will add some time for pressing and baking the tofu. If you make it ahead of time, toast it in the oven for 15 minutes or so to make it crispy again.

While the tofu is baking, prepare the Swimming Rama peanut sauce and other ingredients for the tofu bowl. To make the peanut sauce, combine all of the ingredients over low heat until the sauce has thickened. Adjust flavors as necessary.

To cook the noodles, bring a pot of water to boil. When the noodles have barely cooked through, drain them, rinse with cold water, and add them back to the pot. Stir peanut sauce into the noodles to prevent them from sticking. You also get more flavor by finishing your noodles in the peanut sauce, just as you should always do when making pasta.

Serve warm. You can either compose and serve finished bowls, or let people serve themselves what they want from a selection of ingredients.

What to serve with this Swimming Rama tofu bowl

This Swimming Rama bowl is an all-in-one meal, but here are a few additional items you might want:

• Make a quick pickle of your radish or serve with spicy pickled onions.
• Serve some tropical fruit on the side, like mango or papaya.
• For a cocktail, make a dry martini, a French 75, or a Peanut Butter Manhattan.

Recipe FAQs

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