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Crispy tofu with cucumber with toasted seeds
youryum.com/recipes/crispy-tofu-with-cucumber-with-toasted-seeds · serves 2

Crisp tofu and seeds over a cool cucumber bowl

Toast the seeds first and keep them dry, then use them to finish the tofu and cucumber bowl after the soy glaze.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 18 June 2026
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Crispy tofu cucumber rice and toasted pumpkin seeds
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Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Total
30 min
Serves
2
Per serving
538kcal
Effort
Easy

Toasted seeds are the easiest way to make a tofu bowl feel less soft. Pumpkin seeds puff, sesame seeds smell nutty and both keep their crunch if they are taken out of the pan before the cucumber arrives. Add them at the table, not while the tofu is frying.

The tofu gets a thin cornstarch shell and a quick soy glaze. Cucumber and rice fill out the bowl. It is not a dish that needs a long sauce; the seeds provide enough texture to make the few ingredients feel like dinner rather than assembly.

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

Tofu

Bowl

Seeds

Equipment

  • Large non-stick skillet
  • Small frying pan
  • Tea towel

Method

  1. Toast the seeds

    Put pumpkin and sesame seeds in a dry small pan over medium heat. Toast for four minutes, shaking often, until pumpkin seeds puff and sesame smells nutty. Tip them onto a plate and toss with sesame oil.

  2. Dry and coat tofu

    Press tofu under a tea towel for ten minutes. Tear it into rough pieces and toss with cornstarch. Dust off heavy patches so the coating stays thin enough to crisp.

  3. Make the tofu crust

    Heat oil in a large skillet. Add tofu in one layer and cook for eight minutes, turning once. Add tamari for the final 30 seconds and toss. Turn off the heat.

    Hands tipping toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds into a small bowl

  4. Season cucumber

    Mix cucumber with rice vinegar and spring onions. Keep it unsalted until serving so it does not flood the rice while the tofu cooks.

  5. Finish with dry crunch

    Put rice in bowls, add cucumber and tofu, then scatter toasted seeds over the top. Serve at once. The seeds soften if they sit against dressed cucumber for too long.

Tofu cucumber rice pumpkin seeds sesame tamari cornstarch and spring onions
The topping is small, but it changes every bite of the bowl.

Seeds keep cooking after the pan

A hot pan is a poor place to judge the last few seconds of toasting. Remove the seeds when the first pumpkin seeds puff and the sesame smells warm. The residual heat finishes the small seeds on the plate. Waiting for a uniform brown colour gives you a mixed batch of burnt sesame and acceptable pumpkin seeds.

Crunch has a deadline

Cucumber is mostly water, and vinegar starts moving that water around as soon as it is added. Keep the seeds separate until you are sitting down. A few minutes of contact is fine; half an hour turns the topping chewy.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 2 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 538 kcal
Protein 28 g
Carbohydrate 58 g
Fibre 9 g
Fat 23 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use only sesame seeds?
Yes. Use two tablespoons sesame seeds and toast for two to three minutes. They darken quickly, so keep the pan moving.
Can I use nuts instead?
Chopped peanuts or cashews work. Toast them separately from sesame because their size changes the timing.
Can I bake the tofu?
Yes. Bake it with oil at 220°C fan for 25 minutes, turning halfway, then add tamari and the seeds after cooking.
How do I keep the bowl crisp?
Keep tofu and seeds separate from cucumber until serving. Put them on top of the rice rather than mixing them through the dressing.

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