Hi Peggy,
Firm tofu will work. Each brand uses a different name for a different firmness. What I call medium is usually sold as firm tofu.

This looks wonderful. Unfortunately I can’t find medium tofu, only firm/extra firm or the super soft. Is there any way firm would work, or will the texture be too wrong? I’ve used the firm to make western style tofu loaves, but I suspect the texture of your loaf is different.

Veggies are not chopped, however I do not count the soaking time as this is “prep time”. This recipe is quite easy, and while I may have underestimated a bit the prep time, I doubt it will take you more than 35 minutes to do the whole preparation. And I have no sous-chef either 🙂

Exactly! Thanks for sharing Trang!

Us Vietnamese don’t normally eat that on it’s own. We use it in a dish calls “cơm tấm bì sườn chả chay” – that roughly translates to broken rice with vegan “bì” comprised of shredded fried tofu, some fried shredded potatoes, glass noodles and coated in toasted rice powder, “sườn” is grilled marinated vegan pork and “chả” is the tofu loaf, along with shredded carrot & daikon pickles, sautee green onions and a Vietnamese dipping sauce – typically equal parts of Lime/lemon juice, sugar, warm water and vegan fish sauce (or soy sauce which is still good but wont have the authentic taste & smell) add pounded garlic and chili to taste but my personal reference is slightly less sweet and more tangy and salty so i’ll typically use:
1-1.5Tbsp sugar (i’ll start off at 1 and add more if needed)
2Tsp warm water
2Tsp vegan fish sauce (or soy sauce)
2Tbsp lime/lemon juice (u can also start off less and add more as needed)
Mix until sugar dissolves then add pounded chili & garlic. Swap out garlic for ginger if needing a ginger dipping sauce – for other dishes)