Asian Garlic Tofu cooks up crispy with tons of salty, sweet, and spicy flavor. Serve with broccoli and rice for a fantastically delicious vegetarian meal.
My daughter has been a vegetarian for 2 years. Or maybe it has been 3 years. I can’t even remember. Every now and then I like to share some of her favorite things to eat like Orange Cauliflower and Vegetarian BBQ Nachos.
She doesn’t like beans so tofu is a major source of protein for her. I actually really like to cook with tofu and eat it as well. I love that it has a very neutral flavor that lends itself to being paired with all kinds of seasonings and ingredients.
It’s hard to get tofu crispy but it is possible if you start with super firm tofu and wrap it in paper towels (lots of them) and set something heavy on top. I use a cast iron pan (they are so handy!)
The longer you let it sit, the better. And replace the paper towels a few times. They will get completely wet.
A quick marinade in a mixture of Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little sugar gives the tofu plenty of flavor.
One more trick to crispy tofu is cooking it in a cast iron pan and heating it well before you add the tofu. Move the tofu around as little as possible. I let it get a nice sear on the bottom and then flip the pieces and let them get a sear on a second side.
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Watch the video below to see how to make Asian Garlic Tofu
Asian Garlic Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 package super firm tofu
- 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- green onions for garnish
- rice for serving
Instructions
- Remove tofu from packaging. Place about 4 paper towels on a plate. Set tofu on top of plate and cover with more paper towels. Place a cast iron pan or something else that is heavy on top. Let sit 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, stir together Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
- Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces. Place in bowl with sauce and toss to coat. Let sit 30 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a medium cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Once really hot, add tofu. Once nicely seared on the bottom, flip over. Continue to cook until seared on bottom.
- Drizzle with sesame oil and remove from heat.
- Sprinkle with green onions and serve with rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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1/4 cup of crushed red pepper was way to spicy ..unfortunately dinner ended. Up in garbage bin
The recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon, not 1/4 cup, of red pepper flakes.
Lili try again with 1/4 tsp of crushed pepper only. It was delicious and worth another try.
I used Oyster sauce since I did not have Hoisin Sauce, it did not work the Oyster Sauce was too salty. Did try with Hoisin the next time and it was great.
I tried this meal I haven’t tried it yet cooking now, I added broccoli and the remaining sauce in a skillet with more sauce . I didn’t have any hoisin sauce I looked it up on google and there was a simple hoisin sauce so I made that, I couldn’t find it in the store either way I can’t wait to try it for dinner.
Hi! I am currently making this delic meal, however I bought only medium firm tofu.. hopefully it works out. I noticed your recipe instructions missed out on when the broccoli comes into play here?
Does this recipe really take 2 hours 50 minutes? I’m draining the tofu right now so will soon find out. I just wonder if there’s part of the recipe missing, or (I hope) the timeframe is a typo.
Thanks
That is a typo! Thanks for catching that. The cook time should only be about 5 minutes!
Delicious. Not like tofu at all. And I don’t have a cast iron pan 10/10
I didn’t have extra firm tofu – hub, bless his heart bought me firm. So I wanted to cook the tofu a while before the sauce to see if I could firm it up. (Had pressed it in paper towels for over an hour)I coated it in cornstarch and fried it in the cast iron pan with Pam . Then put the sauce on, and cooked it some more. The texture turned out better than I expected, And the sauce was mostly delicious (!) but the sauce was just a tad bitter. Any thoughts on what I did wrong? Could the ginger be the culprit? I’m more of a slap-dash cook and not sure I measured the ginger accurately…? Or do you think the issue was technical? Thanks so much for this recipe! It was so easy!
Did you add the sugar ?
I pulled the tofu out of the marinade to fry it. Forgot the sugar and the sauce was bitter, added it and the sauce was perfect. I put the tofu back into the sauce when the tofu was cooked, it did not taste bitter.
You might want to try it that way Stef, good luck.
I didn’t use vinegar at all I used olive oil time will tell
Just made this tonight, it came out great! Awesome recipe. The only change I made was that I used brown sugar instead of white sugar. It’s super important that you press the tofu before marinating it otherwise it’ll just be a watery mess when you fry it. Remember not to use too much oil when frying the tofu, use just a very light amount to coat the pan so the tofu comes out nice and crispy. As an extra tip serve this with a little balsamic glaze or reduction on the plate to dip the tofu in! Delicious!
Thanks for all the great tips! I will have to try a little balsamic glaze. That sounds wonderful!
We love tofu even though we’re not vegetarians, I make something with it at least once every two weeks. This sounds like a great recipe, the tofu looks so sticky and delicious.
I like tofu as well but I still have yet to really really cook with it at home! This looks fantastic – love how crispy and browned it is!
My wife love it too
Hi Christin,
thought you should know that I saw your post reposted in its entirety, with the photos here: http://beyondsavory.blogspot.com/2016/04/asian-garlic-tofu.html
Thanks for letting me know Stella. So frustrating. I will check it out.
Ah! This makes me salivate! It’s such a lovely recipe! I love the char on the tofu and the sweet – spicy – sour- salty flavors of this marinade make me want to dive right in! This is clearly one of the best Asian lunch / dinner options for vegetarians! Love it!
Very good recipe. When browning the tofu, I noticed the area of the cast iron pan that had more oil did not char the sauce. Next time, I’ll make sure to place tofu cubes in the area of the pan with excess oil.
I am stuffed! Couldn’t stop eating this bowl of deliciousness! This is the best tofu recipe to date! Came out perfect. I added carrots and mushrooms to the broccoli.
Thank you so much !