Fill a medium saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to the boil. Add the rice and cook for 25-27 mins until tender. Drain.
Step 2 — Start prep
Meanwhile, thinly slice the cabbage and radish with a sharp knife or mandoline. Halve the cucumber lengthwise, scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon, then thinly slice. Thinly slice the chilli, removing the seeds if less heat is desired (chilli is not essential to this dish; you can omit it if you prefer).
Step 3 — Finish prep
Separate the lime leaves, remove central vein and finely shred. Finely grate the zest of half the lime, then juice the whole lime. Coarsely chop the coriander leaves, discarding stems. Finely chop half the garlic*, then using the flat side of the knife, mash to a paste (garlic used raw needs to be finely minced; adding a little salt to the garlic on the chopping board helps).
Step 4 — Make lime dressing
Put the garlic, lime leaves, lime zest, half the coriander, 1½ tbs lime juice (if the lime doesn't yield enough juice, make up the amount with white vinegar), 2 tsp oil, 2 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.
Step 5 — Cook tofu
Cut the tofu on the diagonal into triangles. Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium frypan over medium heat. Cook the tofu for 2 mins each side or until golden and heated through. Remove from the pan.
Step 6 — Chop cashews and serve
While the tofu is cooking, coarsely chop the cashews. Stir the chilli into the lime dressing, if desired. Divide the rice, cabbage, radish, cucumber and tofu among bowls and drizzle over the lime dressing. Scatter with the coriander and cashews to serve.