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
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Nutrition note:
I left out the sugar because the hoisin sauce is so full of sugar. I added the green onion to the sauce up front. I cut the olive oil in half using a nonstick pan, served it with brocolli instead of any rice, and drizzled the tsp. of sesame oil over the top of all of it when about to serve. Dividing that version into 4 servings gives you for the tofu with sauce approximately
160 calories; 8.6 g of fat; 12 carbs; and 9 g of protein.
Add 1.5 cups cooked brocolli florets for an additional 31 calories; no fat; 4 g net carbs; and 2.5 g protein.
Delicious. I added peppers & mushrooms and tripled the recipe. Everyone loved the flavour.
Flavors were good, but I would recommend a saucier preparation. It was a bit dry for my liking and of course, that is a personal preference. So if you like a saucier stir fry, after stir frying the marinated tofu, add some broth and thicken with cornstarch dissolved in water to create a sauce. Definitely add the sesame oil. The picture of the finished dish showed of broccoli, which would have been nice as an honorable mention in the recipe ingredients as an addition to the presentation of the dish.
I added roasted butternut squash cubes with the tofu. The sauce tied the tofu and the squash together quite well.
Made this today (only added green beans at the end) and loved it! The sauce was *delicious*. Thank you!
This is absolutely the BEST marinade for tofu that I have ever tried…and I’ve tried a lot of them. Was expecting to be somewhat disappointed, as ususal, but the taste was amazing. Love it – thank you!
We make this so many times! It’s just beautiful! I put a lot more soy sauce in cause we’re obsessed with it!
This is one of my favourite recipes! Thanks!
Great flavours, thanks for the recipe!
I love this so much.
I’m always looking for new sauces to make with tofu. This is my favorite, and I’ve tried so many recipes that I’ve found online!
I tried this recipe and it came out great! My daughter really loved it
Ohhh! my wife liked this
Made this for our main meal today — was okay, but nothing amazing. Won’t use this recipe again.
Also, the full package of tofu is HUGE for 2 servings, especially as the label says it’s 5 servings.
Really enjoying this recipe. Have made it several times now and I add steamed broccoli at the end.
The tofu I use is very firm tofu (japanese) which does not need pressing which I purchase from Tesco in UK.
Naked XL Extra Firm Tofu, Organic, The Tofoo Co. (450g). IT IS READY TO USE … so I make this recipe often.
Thanks very much.
Hello There,
That’s a great article about asian garlic tofu.
Keep your good job.
Hello Christin,
In this article so informative article about Asian Garlic Tofu. keep your good job.
Thank you.
This was a great recipe to me because I would never have thought of cooking tofu in cast iron. It really does give you the result of frying (with much less oil) along with firming (without the oven). Some suggestions:
–The instructions say heat oil “until really hot” which is all I read and then “on medium high heat”. Between the hoisin and the sugar (which I won’t add next time because it was a little too sweet for me) things can burn on high heat–quickly.
–Don’t forget that because we’re dealing with tofu, the left over marinade is completely safe. When the tofu is done, stir in the green onions and left over marinade to create a sauce.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I love soy much, so tofu is one of the best things I eat much.
Thanks for the tip about coating the tofu in flour and cornstarch. I wondered how to get that little crust on the tofu. This dish looks delicious I’m going to have to have a go at making it.
This was so flavorful and amazing! We added some fresh broccoli and bok choy, and ate it with steamed jasmine rice. Absolutely delicious and will go in our rotation.