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.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
The best tofu bowl! It was very tasty! I added steamed broccoli.
I see broccoli in the pictures but nowhere mentioned in the ingredients or how to prepare it. Any suggestions?
wash it chop it cook it ?????????????????
I am not going to add sugar, Hoisin sauce is sweet.
Steam it in your steamer basket for about eight minutes.
A very easy and tasty dish that doesn’t need the sugar.
You want crispy tofu?? Freeze it first, like others have commented. Thaw, squeeze and then dredge in cornstarch. Fry in hot oil.
Thanks for the great tip Gail!
I’ve never frozen it but I do shake the cubes in a bag with cornstarch, s & p, and sometimes a bit of chili powder to deepen the color. May I suggest peanut instead of olives oil? Olive has a low smoking point while peanut is high. It also adds to the Asian flavor & smells incredible!?
It is very interesting recipe. Tofu was perfectly cooked but the sauce was way too sweet. The Hoisin sauce I am using contains a lot of sugar and adding an extra spoon of it is not necessary. Next time I will definitely skip the sugar and add a lot of veggies.
You actually made a mistake with the directions on how to prepare this dish, it does not follow the video added for preparing the tofu. In your directions for preparing the tofu you state you need 1 teaspoon of olive oil and then the 1 teaspoon of sesame oil for drizzling the tofu. However, in the video you do not show that you drizzle the sesame oil, but that you use the sesame oil to pour into the cast iron pan instead of the olive oil; so basically in the video you did not use the olive oil.
I cooked my very firm tofu (drained, and froze it) for a long time, finally got tired of waiting for it to brown, and turned it up to high, still didn’t burn.
look burnt..you can make firm tofu brown and crispy without burning it.
Buy firm tofu and toss it in your freezer. Let it freeze solid and then thaw. Freezing changes the structure of the tofu and you will end up with a “meatier” texture.
Also, buy a tofu press or make one. I made one out of two small cutting boards; drilled holes; and added some screws and wing nuts. After you’ve thawed the tofu, put it in the press. As water drains, you may have to tighten. The longer you can leave it in the press, the better, so you really get all the water out.
After the tofu has been pressed, cube it and coat the cubes in corn starch. Never use flour on tofu. Corn starch does a beautiful job in terms of browning the tofu.
Then follow the rest of this recipe! Or invent your own!
Great recommendations. Thanks so much! I will try tomorrow 🙂
Coat it in corn starch and then put it in the spice mix? or coat it in spice mix and then sprinkle cornstarch?
Thanks
Corn starch first!
I tried this for the first time today…. AMAZING!!!
Can one use arrowroot instead of cornstarch?
I use Arrowroot anytime a recipe calls for cornstarch. Works fine.
does the calorie count include the rice?
calorie count seems high, does that include the rice?