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Asian Garlic Tofu

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

 

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.

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

 

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.

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

 

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.

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

 

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.

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

 

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.

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

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Watch the video below to see how to make Asian Garlic Tofu

Asian Garlic Tofu- marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and seared until crispy.

Asian Garlic Tofu

Asian Garlic Tofu is a vegetarian meal full of salty, sweet, and spicy flavor.
PREP: 1 hour
COOK: 10 minutes
TOTAL: 1 hour 10 minutes
SERVINGS: 2 servings

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

Calories: 352kcal
Author: Christin Mahrlig
Course: Main Course

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219 thoughts on “Asian Garlic Tofu”

  1. The pictures have broccoli, but there isn’t any broccoli in the recipe. When do you add the broccoli in? Also, how much tofu? It just says one package, but they come in different sizes.

  2. If you put extra-firm tofu in the freezer and then let it defrost, you can practically wring it dry. Just squeeze it with your hand. Pat it with paper towels to get whatever liquid isn’t squeezed out. And then it soaks up marinade like a beast. For future reference.

  3. Made this tonight…we all loved it. I used firm tofu, after the weight, the edges had to be discarded because they split. No problem. Cut into pieces, gently dredged in corn starch and gently rolled in marinade which included sesame oil. Marinated for about 3 hours and fried. Crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside. A true winner!

  4. Sooooo delicious! I didn’t even use all the ingredients, such as, I didn’t have fresh ginger which would have made this dish even more heavenly. And, I didn’t use sesame oil at the end, which is another amazing taste. I used couscous sauteed with a whole onion. Used lettuce, mint, spring onion and parsley as garnish. Super tasty.
    Thank you for the recipe!

  5. I’ve made this 2 times now-both times I used organic extra firm tofu which I pressed between paper towels changing the paper towels once. I doubled the sauce (using low sodium soy sauce) but did not add any sugar. My tofu got a beautiful dark color which I served over brown ice, asparagus on the side. After browning the tofu, I removed it from the skillet, added a tablespoon of peanut butter and poured in about 1/4 cup of gochujang sauce.
    This is a really good recipe, one I will make a lot and appreciate Christin for developing it.

  6. Alvin Hayes

    I want to add my two cents worth of comments. I tried this recipe on 9-12-16, on 3-2-19, and probably some times in-between, but just didn’t note the date on my recipe sheet. I felt it was a great recipe at those times and still do. I would suggest marinading the tofu in the sauce over-night, if you can wait that long. It takes the flavor to new heights. Cook often & be well…Alvin

  7. How much tofu? It says one package but they come in various sizes… 200g, 400g?

    I didn’t see at what point to add the broccoli. Do we just steam and add last minute or toss in the wok with the tofu?

    I’m excited to try this!
    Thank you.

  8. nicole (thespicetrain.com)

    P.S.: And I can’t believe I forgot to rate with my previous comment. 🙂

  9. nicole (thespicetrain.com)

    My friend made this recipe for us last night and it was DELICIOUS!! I think it will became a regular in our house. Thanks so much, Christin! 🙂

  10. Maria McCain

    I loved this recipe. It was my first time cooking tofu and it will not be my last. My family loved the tofu. I plan to use the marinade on chicken as well . Aloha

  11. Kristi Wiseman

    I think this is quite good. I had no trouble getting a good sear on the tofu. I think the Hoison has so much sugar in it that I can’t imagine having trouble browning the tofu. As another reviewer suggested, I did not add the additional sugar. I think that doubling the sauce would be a good idea because my end result was pretty dry.

  12. This was quite delicious. I could never get my tofu to really sear though, not without blackening them…which that blackening isn’t good for you by the way. Also I used organic tofu..tofu is one of the most GMO’d foods you can buy.. pretty much a pesticidal plant these days. But, I followed this recipe ..made a little extra sauce and sauteed the broccoli first in the extra sauce and put aside then went forward with the tofu… excellent.

    1. Sherri Ava Garner

      Thanks for the note about pesticides. So many women endanger their families with invisible cleaning poisons, toxic elements (invisible like pesticides) without knowing the hazards.

  13. Anukool Sathu

    Absolutely stunning flavor.. The tofu is so yummy..

    We add Brocolli beans capsicum to the tofu mixture add make a stir fry alongside thr rice .. Goes really well.

  14. Omg so good and filling!! We replaced the rice with Quinoa and it was just as good. Thanks for sharing!

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