Swimming Rama Bowl with Crispy Baked 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, come and take a dive into the scrumptiousness of a Swimming Rama tofu bowl!
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Recipe inspiration
Swimming Rama is a Thai dish made with spinach, peanut sauce, and often with chicken or another protein. It’s served most commonly over rice.
This Swimming Rama tofu bowl goes meat-free with tofu and subs noodles for the rice. With noodles, you can get more flavor by finishing them in the peanut sauce, just as you should always do when making pasta.
Ingredients
- 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
- Peanut sauce
- Garnished and finished with any combo of cilantro, toasted peanuts, and lime juice.
Variations and substitutions
- Sub another protein, like 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
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.
Making the Swimming Rama tofu bowl
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 a bit of peanut sauce into the noodles to increase their flavor and prevent them from sticking.
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
Nope. I make that mistake also. Either way, swimming or showering in peanut sauce sounds pretty good to me.
Homemade peanut sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for about one week. To reheat stored peanut sauce, simply place the sauce in a pan over low heat. You may need to add a small amount of water or broth to thin it out for reheating.
Who has leftover peanut sauce? Serve with crudité or just eat it with a spoon! Or how about with a simple pan roasted chicken breast? Or use it as a base for a Swimming Rama pizza.
Related grain and salad bowl recipes
Check out other uglyducklingbakery grain and salad bowls like:
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 almond flour peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Swimming Rama Tofu Bowl
Ingredients
Peanut sauce
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth or crunchy, ok to use natural peanut butters here
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- hot sauce to taste
Swimming Rama tofu bowl
- 1 recipe (14 ounces) crispy baked tofu homemade or store-bought
- 8 ounces udon or rice noodles cooked per package directions
- 1 head broccoli florets chopped into bite sized pieces and steamed until tender
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 radishes thinly sliced
- optional garnishes: chopped toasted peanuts, lime wedge, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro
Instructions
Peanut sauce
- Mix all ingredients into a small saucepan and stir over low heat just until smooth.1 cup peanut butter, ½ cup coconut milk, ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth, ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoon lime juice, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 clove garlic, minced, hot sauce to taste
- Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator.
Swimming Rama tofu bowl
- Make the optional crispy baked tofu.1 recipe (14 ounces) crispy baked tofu
- Prepare the noodles per package directions, drain, and return to the pot. Stir in some of the peanut sauce to prevent sticking and to increase the flavor of the noodles.8 ounces udon or rice noodles
- If serving as composed bowls, layer the spinach on the bottom of your bowl. Add the noodles, tofu, broccoli, and other vegetables in a quadrant of the bowl.1 head broccoli florets, 5 ounces baby spinach, 1 red bell pepper, chopped, 2 radishes
- Garnish with your chosen garnishes, or serve the garnishes on a plate for people to garnish as they desire. Serve warm.optional garnishes: chopped toasted peanuts, lime wedge, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro
Notes
Nutrition
This Swimming Rama tofu bowl was first posted on January 25, 2021. It was last updated April 18, 2023.
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Really enjoyed this! Super easy to put together, and so healthy and delicious. The peanut sauce made the dish! Thanks!!!
Thanks, Melanie! I’m so glad you liked this Swimming Rama Bowl.